Where the Trees meet the Mountains
by HistorianoftheKais
Summary: Before Naruto’s birth, Minato had to promise his first born child’s hand in marriage to an Iwa noble clan in order to end the Third Shinobi War. Now Naruto Namikaze must grow up dealing with being the son of a Kage, a Jincurriki, and an engaged man
1. Chapter 1

There was a tense atmosphere permeating Taki as the village hidden in the waterfall played host to the peace talks between Iwa and Konoha. Chief Jonin Shibuma sat at the negotiation table with the Sandaime Tuschikage sitting to his left and the newly appointed Yondaime Hokage sitting to his right. Observing the three were aids from all three countries. Theoretically Shibuma was supposed to be an unbiased mediator, but in actuality he wanted to cut whatever deal he could to end the war. Waterfall Country had been caught in the crossfire of the Third Shinobi War, although not as badly as other countries like Rain, and needed the peace.

Shibuma glanced at both kages and then began to summarize the current draft of the peace treaty. "Currently, the terms of the treaty are as follows: Earth Country will pull back from the areas of Grass Country and Waterfall Country except for those lands that were once part of Ash Country satisfying Earth Country's claim to the lands of that defunct country. In return, Earth Country agrees that all lands that once made up Ash Country, including the lands they held before hostilities began are to be demilitarized for 30 years. For your villages specifically, you've agree to each recognize a zone of avoidance. Unless on official diplomatic missions or by approval of village Kage, no Iwa shinobi is to come within 40 km of Konoha and no Konoha shinobi is to come with 20 km of Konoha." There were further stipulations in the treaty-in-progress, but they were technical points that most people, including both kages, wouldn't pay much attention to.

Oonoki frowned as he listened to Shibuma continue to drone on about minor points in the treaty. At first glance the treaty seemed to give Earth Country, and therefore Iwa, many improvements over their prewar situation. However, such a view did not factor in the power Iwa had during its highpoint in the war. Just a year ago, all of Waterfall and Grass along with significant sections of Fire had been occupied by Earth. But then, Minato Namikaze developed his Hiraishin and proceeded to slaughter Iwa shinobis and Earth country soldiers. The newly instated Yondaime Hokage was the sole man responsible for reversing Iwa's early victories in the war.

Although Oonoki didn't want to admit it, the only reason why he was able to extract so much from the peace talks was because Minato was only one man and Iwa still had more soldiers than Konoha. But, that would change in the future as Iwa's spy rings had discovered that Minato was secretly married to Kushina Uzumaki, a formidable shinobi in her own right. Minato probably had kept his marriage a secret in order to prevent Oonoki from finding out about it. The Sandaime Tsuchikage could appreciate the sentiment, but the possibility of Minato founding a clan of shinobi of his caliber was frightening to Oonoki.

Something needed to be done to neutralize such a threat and that something had to be something that would not lead to further troubles for Iwa. Assassination of either Minato or Kushina was out of the question. Trying to get to either would be risky even under ideal circumstances and that wasn't considering how difficult taking either of them out would be. Furthermore, the fact that Kushina was supposed to be pregnant meant that both ninjas would be on high alert and that the Namikaze family's rise as a prominent ninja clan was close at hand.

Suddenly an idea came to Oonoki causing him to grin. "I have a new condition to add to the treaty." Both Minato and Shibuma wearily turned to look at the grinning Tsuchikage who started to explain his proposal. "These current arrangements in the treaty are all very good. However, the treaties ending the First and Second Great Shinobi Wars were also very good for everyone. Paper isn't that strong of a binder when something new pops up and then we all go to war again leaving our families venerable."

Minato's eyes narrowed in response to how Oonoki emphasized families and looked at him. The Hokage instantly knew that the Tsuchikage was stating that he knew about Kushina and the child Minato's wife was carrying. Two questions immediately came to Minato's mind: how did Iwa find out and why was Oonoki letting slip this valuable information? The Tsuchikage had to know that Minato would redouble security in Konoha to root out Iwa's spy ring now that he knew how serious it was. There was no reason for Oonoki to risk something as valuable as a competent spy ring unless he was going to get something extremely valuable in return. The only question was: what was Oonoki after?

There was silence for a few seconds as Oonoki allowed Minato to stew over what he had said so far. Once the information had its desired effect Onoki continued. "We need something more permanent then paper to solidify this peace treaty and insure that bad blood does not fester between Iwa and Konoha. After all, this whole war was only business. Therefore, I propose a standard marriage agreement between the yet to be born child of the Yondaime Hokage and Kushina Uzumaki with one of the heirs of the Tenjouin Clan. Such a union would be an enduring symbol of the past being left in the past would it not?"

It took a supreme effort of will on Oonoki's part to keep from grinning like a mad man at Minato. At the same time, Minato was using all of his willpower to keep from lashing out at Oonoki. Both kages knew that Oonoki had Minato where he wanted him. If this agreement went through and Kushina had a daughter, then Minato wouldn't be able to fight Iwa with his daughter being on the opposite side. If this agreement went through and Kushina had a son, the boy's wife would effectively keep him from raising his hand against Iwa. If Minato refused the agreement he made Konoha look unreasonable which would cost the village prominent customers. If Minato tried to get Oonoki to table that idea by offering concessions in other areas of the treaty he not only made Konoha look bad, but also increased Iwa's power. No matter what happened, Konoha was put in a tight spot.

Minato closed his eyes for a minute as he carefully weighted each and every option available to him. Finally, the Hokage opened his eyes and said, "I am willing to agree to you condition Tsuchikage. However, I want a provision in the treaty to insure the safety those involved in this marriage agreement. Collateral, if you will, incase disgruntled elements of our villages try to take matters into their own hands. I know that there are many in Iwa would like nothing more than to attack my child and I also know that there are those in Konoha who do not like the main founding clan of Iwa. Therefore, both Iwa and Konoha should hold up their Scrolls of Forbidden Jutsus to insure the couple's safety. Should ninjas from one village attack the other village's member in this marriage union, the offending village will forfeit their scroll in recompense. Do you find this agreeable Tsuchikage?"

Oonoki frowned and considered his options for dealing with Minato's unexpected comeback. Either he could reject Minato's stipulation which would lead to the whole arraigned marriage plan being scrapped or he could agree and put his village's most valuable jutsus on the line. "I accept the conditions to the marriage agreement between the future Namikaze child and either Asuka or Fubuki Tenjounin that the honorable Hokage has requested." Effectively neutralizing the future Namikaze threat was much more important to Oonoki then worrying about the risk to jutsus he wasn't about to endanger by breaking the treaty and could be stolen by Konoha via the Uchihas.

Minato bowed his head and softly said, "Make the addition to treaty Shibuma." The Hokage knew that the Tsuchikage had called his bluff to try and get out of the marriage contract. But, Minato took comfort in the fact that at least his child would not have to worry about threats from Iwa thanks to the collateral and the marriage agreement. Minato only half focused on the wrap up of the discussion as he mentally composed two letters. One letter was for Kushina so that she could blow off some steam before he got back to Konoha and thus wouldn't kill him. The second letter was for his child explaining why he had stuck the child into an arranged marriage.

* * *

Kushina Namikaze, it made no sense to keep the illusion that was still an Uzumaki, stood in her kitchen making carrot with some saffron seasoning ramen. As she was stirring the pot, Kushina looked down at her bulging stomach. "What is it with you and ramen Little One? I get that you like ramen, but please, can't you let mommy eat something besides these noodles?"

The Namikaze matriarch felt her unborn child gently kick her side. She quickly rolled her eyes and then sighed. "I guess I should take that as a no. Oh all right Little One; I'll let you pick the menu for now. However, don't get used to it." Overall, Kushina was extremely happy with how things were going in her life. The war was over, she had a great husband that she could publicly admit to having, and her first child according to the doctors was growing healthily. Nothing, not even the looming arraigned marriage for her child, could dampen Kushina's mood.

Without warning, Kushina's finely honed danger sense went off causing her to dive away from the pot toward the kitchen knives taking care to insure that her child was protected during the dive. It was a good thing that Kushina dived when she did because seven shirikens came flying where she had been standing. Training kicked in for Kushina as she automatically grabbed the knives were waiting to be cleaned, pumped as much wind chakra as she could into the knives, and threw them at the wall. The chakra enhanced cooking utensils cut right through the wall headed strait towards where the shiriken came from.

As the knives were flying, Kushina pulled out the biggest knives in the kitchen taking care to ever so slightly slice the tip of her pinky on one of the knife edges. She then wiped the bleeding digit across an inconspicuous seal on her belt to alert Minato. That done, Kushina hurriedly dashed towards the other side of the kitchen towards the pantry. The firey kunoichi hurriedly opened the pantry and hit a hidden switch activating a hidden rotating door that carried her into a small room no bigger then a small closet.

This secure room was one of several that had been secretly added to the Namikaze house by Minato when he found out that Kushina was expecting. These secure rooms were so small inside that Kushina could only stand; however, they covered in seals enhancing their durability to the point where ever young Kakashi's Chidori or Minato's Rasengan couldn't cut them. Now that Kushina was inside, she didn't have to worry about her or the child's safety and could just wait until Minato let her out once the threat was taken care of. Hiding like some cowardly princess while her man took care of whoever was attacking her, frustrated Kushina to no end as she was not that kind of woman. But, for her child's sake Kushina was glad to be out of the fight.

Soon enough, the door to the safe room was opened by Minato standing in the doorway with his eyes radiating concern. "Are you okay Kushina? Is our child safe?"

Kushina nodded her head and practically threw herself into Minato as she started crying. "We're fine. It's just that, I've never been so scared in all my life. Why would anyone attack me? Iwa wouldn't risk their scrolls and they already have our child's hand given to a lead clan." At this point, Kushina devolved into a sobbing mess. She was a highly trained kunoichi, but she was also an expecting mother who just had an attempt on her and her child's life.

Minato carefully hugged Kushina and softly whispered into her. "Everything is alright dear. You and our child are safe. Heck, you killed three of the six attackers with those kitchen knives you threw. Everything is alright. I promise you dear, I'll get the one I left alive for questioning to tell me who instigated this attack." Minato's eyes hardened as a deadly edge came to his voice. "I'll then find who's ever responsible and make sure they die in the most painful way I can find or invent."

* * *

All the clan heads of Konoha's main ninja clans and representatives of the civilian guilds were gossiping among themselves wondering why the Hokage had called for a full court assembly. As a feudal lord under the Fire Daimyo, the Hokage ruled Konoha with absolute authority. If he felt like getting advice on an issue, he'd hold a council session with representatives that he felt would give him useful advice. Assembling the full court of Konoha rarely happened and only on matters of extreme importance. Most edicts or rulings that the Hokage made were made known to the public through the newspapers. The last time a full court had been held was when Minato ascended to the position of Yondaime Hokage so that everyone could make their oaths of allegiance to him.

The murmuring abruptly ended when Minato walked into the room wearing his full Hokage regalia and sat down on the chair prepared for him. Everyone assembled in the great meeting hall shivered slightly as they sensed the barely contained raged within Minato. Those who personally knew the usually calm and cheerful man wondered what could have enraged Minato so.

Minato looked down upon his assembled subjects and solemnly spoke up. "To Konoha I swear my loyalty and service. To the Hokage I vow obedience to serve Konoha. May my life be forfeit if I so break this oath. That is what each and every one of you swore when you became adults and which you reaffirmed upon my taking Hirashirama's chair. I have summoned you all here today because there are those among you who have broken this oath. Bring out the condemned!"

A side door opened and a troop of ANBU dragged out four bound and gagged people. The ANBU lead the prisoners to the middle of the room so that all could see them. Minato then stood up and announced the condemned's crimes. "Hanzo Uchiha and Mokoba Huyga from the ninja clans and Kunijirou Kura from the jewelers' guild are all guilty of the following crimes. They have aided the seditious organization known as NE and are accessories to a plot to murder a ninja of this village. For their crimes, all three are to be executed via immediate decapitation. ANBU, execute the sentence."

The clan heads and guild representatives watched as ANBU quickly grabbed the condemned by their hair, pulled out their ninjatos, and swiftly cut off the trio's heads. Many of the more sheltered guild representatives' faces started turning green at the sight of the triple execution. However, the ninja clan heads all nodded their heads in approval. They all knew that treason was one of the highest crimes that a person could commit.

Minato then turned to the final traitor and the ringleader of this band of traitors. "Danzo you are a worm whose depravity exceeds even Orochimaru. You dare to think yourself Hokage by your actions. I, not you, decide what is best for Konoha. Only I as the lawful successor of the first three Hokages may organize a shinobi force in Konoha. Your crimes are as follows: organizing an illegal shinobi force known as NE, continuing to command NE when my predecessor gave you clemency by ordering NE disbanded instead of your head, embezzling funds from Konoha to fund your illegal group, kidnapping my wards the orphans of Konoha to be indoctrinated into your illegal group as your servants, conducting illegal missions both within Fire Country and in neighboring countries, and forging connections with illegal organizations when it suited your purpose."

"However, your greatest crime was to try and kill MY WIFE AND UNBORN CHILD! Did you really think that could get away with this? You've been bound and gagged because your own actions have made your thoughts crystal clear to me by having your forces pose as Iwa shinobi. This was all about Iwa's Scroll of Forbidden Jutsus as having it look like Iwa killed my family would cause Iwa to forfeit their scroll to us."

Minato walked closer to Danzo and looked him strait in the eyes before he continued to speak. "Even now, I see no remorse in your eyes over what you did. In your mind my wife and unborn child's lives are of lesser value when compared to the value of the most powerful jutsus known to Iwa and thus a fair trade. You, Danzo are more of a monster then the Bijuu. For all their power and the suffering they inflict, the Bijuu are but animals that can neither think nor reason on their own and thus must follow their instincts. However, you have consciously killed your humanity completely. I am held as a butcher of men by Iwa, but I at least am a human to my friends, family, and can weep for the loss of life caused by my hand. You cannot do that and I honestly doubt that you could even understand such a thing."

Backing away from the traitor, the Hokage pulled out a scroll from his coat pocket. "The numerous crimes that you have committed Danzo, both those currently known and those yet to be discovered as ANBU deprograms NE operatives, have made you an inhuman monster unfit for a normal execution. To simply behead you would be an insult to the three traitors who have just been executed. They, even with their grave crimes, still retained some humanity. Fairness demands that just as a human be killed in a human manner, so should a monster be killed in a monstrous manner."

There was a large cloud of smoke as Minato activated the storage seal on the scroll he was carrying. The smoke soon cleared allowing the crowds to see a large stone box about the size of a coffin with a pad coming out of the 'head' of the coffin and a frog with an open mouth standing at the foot of the coffin. All over the coffin were complex seals connected to each other and that lead to the pad where there were to depressions shaped like hands.

Minato's face hardened as he reaffirmed what he was about to do in his mind. This ghastly invention of his, which was honestly shocked that he could even dream let alone actually build, was to serve three purposes. First it would both make Danzo feel the pain that Minato felt at the threat to his family and would discourage future attacks on his family. Secondly, this would show both guilds and uppity clans that he was not a wet noodle who would give into their requests just because they were from Konoha. Despite his prowess on the battlefield, many within Konoha thought that they could run rings around him in politics and administration of Konoha. Finally, Danzo's horrifying execution should serve as a deterrent against treason for years to come.

In a tone that was both heavy with shame for himself and absolute rage towards Danzo, Minato pronounced the ringleader's sentence. "Your manner of execution will be as follows Danzo. You shall be placed in this coffin and then the seals on it will activate forcibly extracting every last bit of water within your body. ANBU, place him in the coffin."

For the first time in his life, Danzo truly felt terror. He had been prepared to be executed by this foolish upstart. However, never had Danzo imagined a student of that moron Jiraiya to come up with such a manner of execution. Hell, he doubted that even Orochimaru could come up with something like this. Danzo immediately began to struggle and tried to break freed hoping that he could force the Hokage's ANBU or the Hokage himself to kill him in self-defense.

The ANBU operatives had been expecting this and held on tightly to Danzo as they dragged him to the coffin. One of them punched Danzo in the stomach when they held heaved him into coffin so that the lid could be closed. The ANBU hurriedly locked the lid into place so that Minato could activate the seals by placing his hands on the hand depressions and channeling his chakra into the seal. No sound was heard from the coffin and none was needed as the frog spout started to pour out water. 10 seconds later the stream of water ended signaling that every last bit of water had been extracted.

Minato quietly spoke to the ANBU standing near him. "Take that coffin away from Konoha and incinerate it. I don't want so much as a splinter left of it." Immediately after constructing the coffin, Minato had burned all plans and notes for the seals used to extract the water from Danzo. Furthermore, Minato had placed a seal on himself to destroy his memory of how to make those seals. Even in the depths of his pain and desire for revenge, Minato knew that his means of vengeance could used for ways more terrible then he could imagine if he didn't take steps to keep his revenge just on Danzo.

Summoning the last of his willpower, Minato turned to the spooked out crowd. "Court is now ended. Everyone go back and spend time with your families. The only way to move past dealing with such treachery is to spend time with family." Minato made his way out of the assembly room as fast as his position would admit. Once alone, Minato fell to his knees in tears as his rage and desire for vengeance, though 'satisfied', left him feeling only broken and empty.

* * *

Hiruzen Sarutobi, previously retired Sandaime Hokage, sat back down in the chair he had left to Minato. Minato, per his last instructions before heading out to seal the Kyuubi, declared that Hiruzen would fill the position of Hokage until such time as "a suitable person from the younger generations could be found to take the position". Damn it, the newly reinstated Hokage thought. He had already put his 30 years in for this torture, why the hell couldn't Minato find someone else to take this position?

As Hiruzen was mentally gripping over the unfairness of it all, Jiraiya walked in with a newly born Naruto in his arms. The Sandaime looked up and calmly asked, "Is this the boy?"

Jiraiya nodded his head and quickly replied, "Yes. This is Minato and Kushina's little boy Naruto. The kid is fine from the sealing and the fox is securely locked away. I've triple checked the seal and can say that there is absolutely no way the fox can escape on its own and it would take a seal master of at least Minato's level to hope to weaken the seal enough so that the fox could try to escape. However, I would like to mention that the seal is set up so that Naruto should be able to summon a portion of the demon's power at will when he gets older."

The Sandaime nodded his head and then asked, "Good. Please give Naruto back to his mother. I'm sure Kushina is distressed enough about losing her husband without worrying about where Naruto is."

Jiraiya winced and solemnly said, "That won't be possible sensei. Kushina had some complications with the birth and well." The toad sage's eyes started to water up as he fought back the emotions he was feeling so that he could explain things to Hiruzen. "According to the doctor I spoke to, Kushina's complications were deemed a low priority with all of the wounded coming in from the battle and a stasis seal was place on her. However, whoever was supposed to place the seal didn't do a very good job causing her to bleed to death."

Both men looked at Naruto and couldn't help but feel sorry for the babe. Naruto was less then a day old and yet he had lost both parents, had the most powerful demon known sealed into him, and the only thing keeping in from being on the top of Iwa's hit list was a marriage contract. Hiruzen sighed and asked, "Do you know who the Namikazes had designated to take care of Naruto if anything should happen to them?"

Jiraiya nodded and replied, "Minato and Kushina entrusted me and six others as potential guardians of Naruto if they died. Unfortunately, I'm the only one from that list that's still alive. I'd like to take care of Naruto as the boy is my godson but,"

The Hokage nodded his head and continued Jiraiya's thought. "You're the head of our main spy rings. Such a position requires too much time outside of the village to properly raise a young child and you cannot just resign your position because it would be almost impossible to replace you."

Silence descended on the room as the two men each thought about what to do about Naruto. Finally, the Sandaime broke the silence. "With you permission Jiraiya, I could have Asuma's old nurse Kasumi care for Naruto while your outside the village. At the very least, she could look after the boy until he is old enough that he can be left alone while you go out on your missions."

Jiraiya nodded and quickly agreed with Hiruzen. "That would be acceptable to me. Now, there is just one thing I need to know sensei. What are you planning to do about the sealing with the village? We both know that there is no way that we can just pretend that the sealing never happened. The villagers will demand an explanation."

Hiruzen pulled out his pipe and took a few puffs as he thought about the situation. "We'll let it be known that the Kyuubi was sealed away in a secure location using a divine seal to insure that the demon can never escape. This announcement will be worded in such a way so that the villagers make the assumption that the Kyuubi is sealed in a place or object and not in a person. Furthermore, the villagers will be informed that the location of the Kyuubi's imprisonment is a top secret will severe penalties up to the death sentence for who ever attempts to discover the seal's location."

Sarutobi closed his eyes and then continued on. "Only you, I and the Tsuchikage are to know that Naruto holds the Kyuubi until Naruto is at least a genin."

Jiraiya quickly lost his cool when he heard the third person who would know about Naruto's condition. "What! Why the hell should the Tusuchikage know that?! What reason should someone in another village, let along another country know a secret like that?"

The Hokage's eyes narrowed freezing the Toad Sage in mid-rant. "Think Jiraiya think, this deception I'm planning won't hold forever. Eventually, people will discover that Naruto holds the Kyuubi whether by someone figuring out what happened or Naruto displaying the Kyuubi's power. This deception is merely to buy Naruto time so that negative perceptions of the villagers from the Kyuubi's attack have a chance to dissipate. Even if the deception holds for only a few months, people will at least have a chance to greave and move on. My hope is that this deception will last long enough so that Naruto can begin to make a name for himself before this is revealed to the public."

"However, Naruto's betrothal to Asuka Tenjouin complicates matters. Oonoki or possibly his successor could use Naruto's status as the jailor of the Kyuubi against us diplomatically if he is not informed immediately. Never doubt a politician's ability to twist things around if it so suits them. That's how young Naruto ended up engaged in the first place. If we inform Oonoki now, we remove the possibility that Iwa could accuse us of hiding a 'condition' of this magnitude from them for our participant in the treaty marriage."

Jiraiya started to scratch his chin as he thought over what Sarutobi told him. "But," the concerned godfather started to ask, "What of the risk of Oonoki publically releasing this information? How can you be sure that he won't just destroy your plan to spite you?"

Hiruzen chuckled and then said, "You do not know the Tsuchikage very well do you Jiraiya. Oonoki doesn't care about things like bloodlines, clans, nor in Naruto's case having a demon sealed into a person. Power and potential are what matters to that man. Why do you think he insisted on the engagement? It was an attempt to gain a new source of power for his village at best and neutralize a source of power in another village from being used against Iwa. Oonoki will not only keep our little secret, he will probably insure that Naruto is well treated by the people of Iwa when he goes to claim his bride. Think for a moment and put yourself in Oonoki's shoes. He has a solid link between Iwa and the Namikazes who gave Naruto extremely powerful clan jutsus and a solid ninja pedigree. He has an ally who should be able to call upon the power of the strongest demon ever known. If things go badly here in Konoha he can turn that ally into a subordinate. All of this Oonoki gets by keeping the marriage and he gets our Forbidden Scroll if we break the deal. The Tsuchikage is too intelligent to discard a hand like that."


	2. Chapter 2

A lot of information could be gathered about a person of Konoha by just observing where in the village they lived. Using the main village market square and the Hokage Monument for orientation, one could find six distinct neighborhoods. Between the market square and the monument were where the village poorer citizens dwelled. This wasn't a 'slum' area due to the general cleanliness of countless D rank missions and the fact that many ninjas lived there. Even if they were only genins and washed out Chunins, the ninjas insured that no gangs developed. To the left and right of this area were apartment/condominium complexes. The ones on the right typically belonged to civilians and the ones on the left were mostly owned by non-clan ninjas. There was a break in the residential areas at this point with both sections of the circle being filled with shops and workshops that weren't able to get a spot in the main square. Past the shops on the left and right were single family homes on small plots of land. Once again, civilians tended to live in the neighborhood on the right side. The ninjas, typically minor clans or families that hadn't reached clan status yet, lived on the left side. Finally, directly opposite the Hokage monument, one could find the estates of the major clans.

Kasumi Takahashi owned a house in the 'civilian' side of Konoha near the major clan estates. The elderly woman had bought it years ago so that she wouldn't have to travel far to reach the Sarutobi Estate back when she had helped take care of the Sandaime's children. The grey haired old matron woke up at the crack of dawn to the muffled sound of jumping jacks downstairs. A slightly exasperated smile appeared on Kasumi's face as she rolled her eyes and spoke to herself. "Ah Naruto, what ever am I to do with you?"

The elderly woman quickly got dressed and headed downstairs. She then headed to the family room where her six year old charge was currently doing pushups. Kasumi put her hands on her hips and spoke in a mildly serious voice. "And just what do you think you're doing young man?"

Naruto looked up at Kasumi with a guilty expression on his face. "Training Grandma."

Kasumi nodded her head. "That's what I thought Naruto. You know the rules; you are not to train without supervision. We don't want you to accidentally injure yourself causing you to lose weeks or months of training." Kasumi's eyes narrowed as she noticed the bands around Naruto's wrists. "Naruto, are those the resistance bands that Jiraiya made for you?" After the blond haired tyke nodded his head, the elderly matron held out her hand and firmly called out, "Naruto Namikaze, you are to take off those bands right this instant! You know that you are only supposed to use them when Jiraiya specifically lets you when he's training you. I let you keep them in your room because I thought you were a big boy and could be trusted not to touch them."

The young Namikaze hung his head in shame as he deactivated the resistance bands. These bands had special seals on them to make it feel like one was going against a strong gust of wind with every movement. Jiraiya and Minato had created the resistance bands at first as a simple exercise in applying seal theory and then incorporated them into their training. They had created stronger resistance bands that could make one feel like they struggling against a hurricane or a whirlpool of water. Naturally the bands Jiraiya gave Naruto were only beginner bands, but they were fairly strong for such a young boy.

Once Kasumi had the bands in her hands she firmly said, "Naruto, I'm going to lock these up until Jiraiya gets back and he decides whether or not you can have them again. I must say that I am very disappointed in you as I know you can be better than this. What is your greatest dream Naruto?"

The young boy blinked his eyes wondering why Grandma had brought that up while she was scolding him. Nevertheless, he quickly answered the question. "I want to be a greater ninja than my father, Grandma."

Kasumi nodded her head and then continued on. "That is a good goal Naruto. Now, can you tell me what the second law of being a ninja of Konoha is after seeing to the safety and security of Fire Country's people?"

Naruto scratched his head for a second as he tried to remember that part of the lessons his grandma had taught him. Bookwork always seemed so boring, unless the bookwork was on chakra or great ninjas of the past. After a few seconds Naruto hesitantly replied, "To obey the orders of the Hokage and all lawful superiors?"

After nodding her head Kasumi replied, "Very good Naruto. Obedience is a basic part of being a ninja and a part of obedience is trust that a ninja will obey the instructions he is given. How can the Hokage trust you with a mission or your future squad leader trust you with an assignment if I cannot trust you to do such a simple thing as not training when you are unsupervised or to not use these resistance bands without Jiraiya's approval?"

A sad look crossed Naruto's face as he looked down at the floor in shame. In a sorrowful voice he asked, "Is there anyway I can make things better Grandma?"

Kasumi nodded her head. "Yes there is Naruto. First, you can set the table for breakfast. Then once we have breakfast you can clean your room. If you do both these things without complaint, then I think that you'll have repaired the trust you broke. However, the resistance bands will stay locked up as a reminder to you."

Naruto nodded his head and then took off like a rocket to go set the table. Kasumi shook her head with small grin on her face. "Oh that boy, I don't know of any child who has as much energy and drive as he does. With his personality it is just impossible to stay made at him. If Naruto keeps growing like he has been he'll definitely be a heartbreaker. Minato's lucky to be dead or in ten years the village girls would have killed him for keeping his son off the market."

* * *

After breakfast was over and Naruto's room had been cleaned, Naruto and Kasumi left the house and headed towards the center of Konoha. Many people in the streets noticed the duo in the streets and gave respectful nods to them as they passed. Everyone knew that the boy's father had sacrificed his very soul to the Shinigami in order to seal the Kyuubi away in a hidden location where it would remain imprisoned for all time and that Naruto's mother had been lost in a tragic medical mistake. The fact that even with his tragic past Naruto could still be so cheerful impressed many of the villagers living near Mrs. Takahashi's home.

The respectful looks from the villagers got more respectful and more formal as the duo got closer to the center of the village. These glances came from people who did not see Naruto regularly and tended to think of him as 'the Yondaime's Son' and not as 'Naruto Namikaze'. A small twitch appeared on Naruto's forehead whenever one of the more exuberant well-wishers called to him as "respectful heir".

Kasumi noted each twitch in the boy she though of as a grandson and barely held in a sigh. Like many children, Naruto loved to have attention lavished upon him. However, Naruto hated getting attention just because he was Minato's son. The elderly Takahashi found this trait endearing. Instead of Naruto growing a big head, he was growing a drive to succeed.

Eventually, Naruto noticed where Kasumi was leading him. "Grandma, why are we heading to the Hokage's Tower?" It wasn't that Naruto had any problems with the tower; he just thought that they were going shopping today.

Kasumi smiled and quickly answered the question. "The Hokage asked me to bring you to his office today. There is something he wants to talk to you about that involve something your father did before you were born."

Naruto blinked his eyes for a second and then eagerly said, "What is it?"

There was a small chuckle from Kasumi as she replied, "Now, now Naruto. The Hokage is taking valuable time out of his schedule to talk to you. Shouldn't you wait and let him tell you what it is he wants to talk to you about?"

The little blond boy shrugged his shoulders. "But Grandma, Grandpa Sarutobi usually drops by once a week to talk to me. Why can't you just tell me what it is and I'll act surprised when Grandpa tells me?"

While rolling her eyes, Kasumi lead Naruto into the tower. The duo then headed towards the Hokage's office. They were stopped two times by the guards to verify that both Kasumi and Naruto were supposed to be where they were in the Tower. Finally, the duo was let into the Hokage's office where they saw Hiruzen sitting in his chair at the desk. The elderly Hokage stood up and quickly said, "Good day Kasumi, Naruto. Please, have a seat."

Naruto barely waited to sit down before he began questioning Hiruzen. "Hey Grandpa Sarutobi, why did you have Grandma bring me here? All I was told was that this had something to do with Father."

Hiruzen nodded his head and smiled in his typical grandfatherly manner. "That's correct Naruto. There is something that Jiraiya and I need to talk to you about. Originally, Jiraiya was supposed to explain this to you, but an important lead came up that will delay his return for a few weeks and we wanted you to know this before you begin at the Academy. Tell me Naruto, have you ever wondered how parents get together so that children can have mothers and fathers?"

Naruto shrugged his head and replied, "Yes. Grandma told me it involves something called a marriage, whatever that is. I keep on seeing older people coming out of a bar together and thing hear about them getting married a few months later. Do parents get together at bars?"

Both Hiruzen and Kasumi had to hide a chuckle at Naruto's child logic. Hiruzen then continued to speak now that he knew where Naruto was at. "Not exactly Naruto. The way adults get together to become children's parents is like this: they meet each other somewhere like a bar; go on dates which are like hanging out with your friends only with some differences, and then if they like each other deeply enough they get married."

After nodding his head, Naruto quickly spoke up, "Okay Grandpa. But, why did you call me to your office to tell me this?"

Hiruzen sighed and then answered Naruto's question. "I'm telling you this Naruto because when you grow up you won't be getting your wife like I just described. You see Naruto, your father had to make an arraigned marriage for you. In an arraigned marriage, you don't meet someone. Rather, your partner is picked out for you and you marry them."

At this point Naruto interrupted the Hokage. "What! Why would Father do this? I'm too young. Girls have-" Kasumi decided that enough was enough at this point and put her hand gently but firmly on Naruto's shoulder.

This calmed Naruto down enough that he could sit back down in his chair and let the Hokage speak again. "Naruto, your father left you a letter explaining why he did this and he wrote it shortly after this deal was made." Hiruzen paused for a second to pull out the letter from his desk and handed it to Naruto. "Read the letter Naruto, and then I'll try to answer any questions you might have afterwards."

Naruto nervously opened the letter and began to read what his father had written:

'To my Child,

At the time I am writing this I do not know whether you are my son or my daughter. It doesn't matter to me which you are as I love you and have loved you ever since your mother told me you were on the way. It is my fondest wish to watch you grow up, be with you as you succeed in whatever you do though I hope you chose to become a ninja, and to watch as you find someone you can love like I love your mother.

Sadly, events beyond my control have forced me to take part of this wish away. As you are reading this letter, you know about the deal I had to make with the Tsuchikage putting you into an arraigned marriage. I did not wish to make this agreement and I am truly sorry that you have been forced to have a spouse not of your choosing. Unfortunately, the Tsuchikage presented the proposal in such a way that if I rejected it, Konoha's reputation would be harmed which would directly harm the village itself since reputation is vital for a ninja village's survival. My attempts to make the Tsuchikage retract his proposal by adding contingencies in place only insured that you and your future spouse are well treated by the village you will be living in.

As Hokage, I must do everything in my power in insure the safety of the village and all who live in it. Your marriage insures the end of this war and helps prevent the possibility of a future war occurring between Earth and Fire thus saving potentially hundreds or thousands of lives. It is a bitter thing for a father to trade his child's happiness to insure that others live. I am deeply sorry for this and hope that one day you can forgive me.

If it helps, think of this arrangement as a life-long mission. Your mission is to insure the safety of Konoha by having a long and happy, or at least tolerable, marriage. Hopefully, you and your spouse can grow to love each other, or at least become good friends. Sorry it came to this my child.

Your father,

Minato Namikaze, Yondaime Hokage"

Naruto read and re-read the letter in order to observe the full message that his father was trying to convey. The young ninja-to-be didn't understand all of the words in the letter since he was only six. However, he did understand the message his father was trying to get across. After looking at the letter yet another time, Naruto looked up at Hiruzen. "My Father really didn't want to do this did he?" The Hokage nodded his head and would have spoken if Naruto didn't cut him off. "I don't want to do this either. But, I know its something that must be done. A lot of people are counting on this happening aren't they Grandpa?"

Hiruzen nodded his head again proud at the maturity that Naruto was showing. "That's right Naruto, your marriage is important and there is a lot riding on it being a success. Jiraiya and I wanted to let you know now so that you could get used to the idea instead of having it thrust upon you when you were older. Furthermore, Jiraiya and I have recently made arrangements with you future wife's family so things aren't so bad when it comes time for the wedding between you and Asuka."

Kasumi spoke up since Naruto's brain seemed to be on the verge of shutting down. "What are these arrangements?"

The Hokage quickly replied, "We have set up a secure postal route, not an easy task mind you, so that Naruto and Asuka can send letters to each other. Neither of them is allowed to leave their village until they are either genins or adults for security reasons. Having them able to write to each other will allow both Naruto and Asuka to get to know each other before the wedding. At least this way they can get to know each other before they meet face to face."

* * *

Later that night, Naruto was sitting at the desk in his room trying to think of a letter to write. Kasumi had insisted that he write a letter to Asuka introducing himself. Unbidden, her words from dinner came back to Naruto. "You really should take this opportunity to get to know your future bride. Most people in arraigned marriages don't find out who their marrying until the wedding day. Besides the Hokage set up a way for you to send letters to Asuka and it is very hard to send letters from Konoha to Earth Country."

But, what was he supposed to write? Naruto honestly didn't fully get exactly what was going on. Sure, he knew what marriage was; at least he knew as well as any six year-old could. However, Naruto wasn't quite sure what he was supposed to say in the letter. An idea came to Naruto and he started to write his letter. After writing a few words, Naruto decided to pitch his would-be letter and start again. This process continued for a while as the young groom to be worked on his letter.

Kasumi came into Naruto's room two hours after Naruto started working on his letter in order to tuck him into bed. The old matron quickly brought her hand to her mouth to keep herself from giggling at what she saw. Naruto was fast asleep in the chair with his head on the desk. As Kasumi walked towards the desk, she noticed a letter next to Naruto's head.

Curious, Kasumi picked it up and inspected the letter. It turned out to be complete except for Naruto's signature. She quickly read over the letter to see what Naruto had written:

"Hi,

My name's Naruto. I'm told that we'll get married one day in the future. Marrying a stranger doesn't sound fun, so let's get to know each other. I like my Uncle Jiraiya, my Grandma Kasumi, and my Grandpa Sarutobi. Well, Jiraiya's my godfather, but I see him as an uncle. Kasumi and Sarutobi aren't my grandparents, but I see them as such. I also like Ramen and training. I'm going to be the best ninja ever, just you see! Konoha is a great place to live. Do you like Iwa? Well, I hope you like the letter. I can't wait for your letter."

The letter was short and sweet for a six year old. Kasumi quickly pulled out another sheet of paper and copied Naruto's letter word for word. She thought that Naruto's first letter to his bride was something precious and should be recorded. If she held a copy, then there was no chance of it getting lost over the years. Besides, it would be great to whip it out and embarrass Naruto and Asuka with when they were teens; especially if she kept a copy of Asuka's reply as well.

Once the copy was safely tucked away, Kasumi gently picked Naruto up and placed him on his bed. Kasumi then pulled the covers up to Naruto's chin and then gently kissed his forehead. "Goodnight Naruto and sleep tight."

* * *

Fugaku Uchiha stood in the Uchiha Clan's meeting hall and calmly watched as his fellow clan members walked into the room. For far too long, the Uchiha Clan had been neglected by the village. THEY were the only founding clan still in the village after that washed up woman Tsunade left. The mantle of Hokage was the Uchiha's right. Fugaku had been willing to tolerate Minato as the Yondaime. The man had been powerful and at the time a strong, unquestionable leader was necessary to win the war.

However, Minato Namikaze had passed away seven years ago. For seven years, Hiruzen had held the position of Hokage and each passing day was like a slap in the face to Fugaku. With the Yondaime's passing, a Godaime should have been elected; more precisely, an Uchiha Godaime should have been elected. The Uchiha clan head didn't care if it was himself or a cousin that held the position. He just wanted his clan to finally have the rule of the village they had created.

As the hall filled up, Fugaku thought about what he was planning: the overthrow of the Sandaime. He could deal with Hiruzen retaking the position of Hokage. It was a bitter and almost unbearable blow, but it was something that could be corrected with time. The old monkey would eventually have to give up the position due to death or old age and then a Godaime would have to be chosen. Fugaku had been quietly preparing for that day so that Itachi, whom he was vigorously training in order to build up the needed reputation, could become Hokage.

But, a Hokage needed more then personal power. A Hokage needed support from the village and more importantly the Daimyo in order to stay in power. The Uchiha Clan was steadily losing support from the village thanks to the older generation remembering that Fugaku's granduncle Madara had been able to control the Kyuubi with his Sharingan. There were whispers that someone had been seen near the Kyuubi while it attacked the village. These dark-alley rumors which were slowly growing more and more frequent claimed that this mysterious figure was an Uchiha who had summoned the Kyuubi to attack the village.

Fugaku knew that these rumors were slowly destroying the clan's reputation. If things kept up, the clan's reputation would be so low that even if Itachi was the best ninja in the village the Daimyo would select someone else to be the Hokage. His father had worked tirelessly to insure that the clan didn't become some non-entity politically like the Hyuga Clan. There was no way that Fugaku was going to let that happen on his watch. Taking what was rightfully the clan's by force was the only viable option Fugaku could see. It was a risky move, but the clan had enough ninjas to pull off a coup and it was possible to bribe the Daimyo with lower mission rates to get his approval once everything had settled.

Once the last Uchiha came into the room, Fugaku started to speak. "This village was founded by our clan and the Senju clan. But, ever since that day our clan has had to endure a subordinate position in the village. The Senjus are long gone, but we the sole surviving founding clan are still kept in a subordinate position. We are not recognized for what we truly are. It is our strength that supports this village. Without our sight, Konoha would be blind. For years we have kept the peace within these walls, collected jutsus from our enemies giving the village vital knowledge to survive in war, and we have done this without once receiving proper thanks for our efforts."

"As individuals and as a clan we could endure this lack of thanks. After all, we were patiently waiting in the shadows for our time to come. A time when this village that we founded and put so much effort into keeping alive would ask us to come out of the shadows and receive the recognition that we so truly deserved. But, there are elements within the village that seek to deny us what is our right. If they had their way, the Uchiha Clan would be ground to dust and people would forget everything we have sacrificed for the good of Konoha."

"That cannot be allowed to happen! We will not dishonor the efforts of our ancestors and dearly departed brethren by allowing these seditious people to have their way. For the good of all within Konoha, the Uchiha Clan shall step out of the shadows and take control of the village."

Fugaku's speech was abruptly interrupted when several small explosions that sounded like fireworks going off were heard. Thick clouds of blue gas filled the meeting hall. Fugaku, like most of the assembled Uchihas, tried to cover his mouth and nose. However, there was too much gas in the room and the Uchihas all dropped to the floor before any of them could open a door or window.

* * *

The first thing Itachi saw when he woke up was a blinding light that forced him to close his eyes. "Careful there, the knockout gas heightens your sensitivity to light. Just keep your eyes closed and breathe deeply. The counteragent will take care of that problem shortly." Itachi did as he was told and he started to feel better. After a few seconds that same voice spoke again. "Okay good, I now want you to slowly open your eyes."

Itachi slowly opened his eyes as directed and was greeted by the sight of a smiling nurse. The nurse then removed the breather mask on Itachi's face. "There we go, welcome back to the land of the awake. That was a lot of knockout and paralysis gas you inhaled sir. There won't be any long-term effects, but you will feel tired for the next 12 hours. The doctor says that you should take it easy for the next 24 hours."

The young ANBU operative nodded his head. "I understand. Don't worry; I will follow those instructions to the letter."

To Itachi's surprise, the nurse gave him a firm and serious glare. "Make sure you do sir. We here at the hospital know how to deal with ninjas who think that they can ignore doctors' orders."

A small chuckle came from the door causing Itachi and the nurse to look in that direction. They both saw Hiruzen standing in the doorway with a small grin on his face. "Hello Itachi, Ms. Nayoki." The nurse quickly bowed her head and Itachi gave the Hokage a sight nod as well. Hiruzen walked towards the bed and then spoke. "Ms. Nayoki, would it be too inconvenient for you if you were to leave Itachi and I alone for a few minutes? I need to be debriefed about what happened at the meeting hall and it is a matter of vital village security."

Ms. Nayoki quickly bowed her head again. "Certainly sir, would 15 minutes be enough time?"

Hiruzen nodded his head. "That will be enough. Now, go." Once the nurse left the room, Hiruzen focused his attention on Itachi. "I take it that we ran out of time to convince your father to talk."

Itachi nodded his head, "Regrettably sir. My father ordered everyone to show up in battle gear. Battle plans would likely have been given after his speech if I hadn't triggered those smoke bombs. Furthermore, my father had amassed more support within the clan for his plan then either you or I suspected. No one at the meeting showed any dissent or hesitancy when my father announced the coup attempt."

The Hokage's old eyes seemed to age twenty years when he heard that and then he sighed. "I'm sorry it came to this Itachi. I honestly tried to get your father and your clan to see how valuable to the village."

The bedridden ninja raised his hand. "No need to apologize to me Sir. It was father's fault for keeping the clan isolated from the rest of the village. Those rumors that bothered him and the rest of the clan so much wouldn't have occurred if the clan was in regular contact with the village at large."

Hiruzen nodded his head. "You are quite correct Itachi. It pains me what you've had to endure for this village. This night will leave scars on all of us for a long time. Sadly, what must be done has to be done and traitors cannot be allowed to live. Your father and the men in the meeting hall will be put to death. The women will be examined by the doctors. If they are pregnant their execution will be stayed until their children are born. Otherwise, they'll be executed tonight as well. You are now the head of the Uchiha Clan Itachi. I'm sorry you had to receive this position in such a manner."

Unable to speak, Itachi nodded his head and then just lay on the bed. Hiruzen wished Itachi good night and then left the room. Itachi felt like there was a ton of bricks pressing down on him as the thought of everything that had happened came crashing down on him. He, at 15, was now the head of disgraced clan and he had a direct part in killing 4/5s of the clan. Even though his kinsmen had been traitors, Itachi was torn up about his role in stopping the proposed coup. It was only the thought of his little brother and the young children within the clan that he was now responsible that kept Itachi from trying to find a way to commit suicide.

After an hour of mourning, Itachi forced himself to think about what he should do to look after what was left of the clan. A clear break needed to be made between the survivors and the traitors in the villagers mind when news of what happened got out. Perhaps he should publicly break down the walls his father had erected around the Uchiha section? Yes, that would be a good start. But, something more dramatic seemed to be needed. What, Itachi wasn't sure yet.

Another thing that jumped out at Itachi was the need for the survivors to integrate better into the village as a whole. Those in the academy would have to be encouraged to work with their classmates and those too young to go to the academy should probably be taken to public parks to play instead of playing at the clan park. He should also set an example himself to the rest of his clansmen. Maybe he should take a bride from one of the minor merchant families? Members of those families would likely accept such an offer, even from a dishonored clan, due to the financial resources at his call. Such a move would drive home that he was not his father.

However, Itachi decided to table his thoughts and get some sleep. There would be time enough in the morning to make these decisions. No reason to make a decision now.


	3. Chapter 3

Itachi silently walked into the room in the Hokage's Tower where the remains of his clan had been gathered. All and all there were 17 children in the room when Itachi walked in. The oldest children were 12 year old twins who were beginning their final year in the Academy. The youngest child was a four year old girl; there were none younger then her because the adults in the clan didn't want to have to worry about defending infants during their planed coup.

Suddenly, Sasuke pushed his way through the small crowd and ran to Itachi. "Brother! Brother! What's going on? Where are Father and Mother? Some ninjas in masks pick us up and brought us here."

A pang of guilt stabbed Itachi in the heart, but he showed no outward sign of it. The new clan head looked at his surviving kinsmen and said, "There is no easy way to tell you all this. As of this moment, we are all that remains of the Uchiha Clan."

Naturally, shell shocked looks crossed all the children's faces. Sasuke's eyes widened and he whispered out, "Mother, Father, dead? How? That just can't be."

Knowing that this needed to be explained firmly started speaking again. "There had been a plot in the works by our kinsmen to take over the village. Sasuke, Mother and Father were in charge of the plot and were captured by ANBU. Can anyone tell me what the punishment for treason is?"

One of the twins gave the answer in a sad whisper. "Death, the punishment for treason is death."

Itachi nodded his head, "It pains me to say it, but all of our parents and your older siblings were traitors to the village. As such, they are being executed as I speak. The only reason we are here is because the Hokage spared our lives since we had no part in the plot."

After pausing for a moment to look at each child Itachi continued, "News of what has happened tonight will spread quickly throughout the village. We will be pariahs to most villagers. They will not see us as representing the police who kept them safe all those years; they will only see the sons and daughters of traitors who tried to overthrow the Hokage. A few of your friends, those who can think for themselves, will likely remain your friends. However, many of those who you used to hang out with will look down on you."

"I don't want to scare you or be mean to you by saying this. I am trying to prepare you all for what is to come. This day will reflect on us for a long time. However, we can and will restore the honor of our clan. It will be a long and difficult time, but through hard work we can remove the stain that our parents left us with. I want you all to think about and strive towards the day when the events of this day no longer haunt us."

Many of the younger children couldn't understand some of the words Itachi used. Still, everyone in the room understood the meaning of what Itachi was telling them. The emotion in the room quickly lead the 18 Uchihas into a group hug as everyone cried.

* * *

Naruto was sitting in one of the trees in the Academy playground reading the latest letter Asuka sent him. The letter itself was hidden in the pages of Naruto's favorite book the Legend of the Gutsy Ninja. Although Naruto was currently the strongest boy in his class, he knew that he'd loose all of the guys respect if they knew he was getting a letter from a girl. The blond haired ninja to be had turned reading Asuka's letters into a sort of game. He won if he could read the letter without getting caught. So far the score was Naruto 5, Shame 0.

Even with the threat of ridicule, Naruto couldn't help reading Asuka's letter:

'Hello Naruto,

I hope that this letter gets to you in time for your eighth birthday. Mother says that this should get to Konoha within a week of your birthday so it's either happy early birthday or happy late birthday greetings from me. Thanks for the photo of you that you sent in your last letter. It's great to actually see you. Mother helped me find a frame for it and I have it set up by my bed.

My training is going well. Father has finally started teaching me the basics of my family's golem jutsus. I can't tell you anything more than that since their family jutsus and you're not family yet. I'm once again in the blue squad at the Iwa Shinobi Institute. It's nice to be recognized as one of the best students currently in school, but I wish the professor in charge of our squad was different. That annoying man keeps on talking about blue squad as if it should be the only squad at the Institute. He's tolerant enough of yellow squad, but absolutely hates red squad for some reason.

Enough of the Institute how are things with you? Did you get your resistance bands back after your Grandmother took them from you again? Also, some rumors have reached Iwa about some problems your village had with one of the clans. If it's not too much trouble, can you tell me what happened? I don't need to know the specifics; I just want to know what exactly happened and not some wild school rumors.

Until next time,

Asuka Tenjouin'

Finished reading the letter, Naruto closed his book and remembered his picture of Asuka hanging on the wall next to his bed. His nine year old pen pal's, it was easier to think of her as that then as his fiancée, image instantly came to mind. Asuka had long brownish-yellow hair that she let grow long and sharp brown eyes. Her face had a determined and yet friendly expression that Naruto found captivating.

Naruto's quiet reflections on his future bride were abruptly interrupted by the sound of a nearby commotion. The Namikaze heir turned his head and brought his hand up to his ear. He then heard the sounds of some children taunting someone.

"Traitor's spawn!"

"Look its traitor boy."

"You going to turn on us traitor boy?"

A tic formed on Naruto's head as he listened to what was being said. The eight year old quickly put his book back in his backpack and started to walk down the tree. Naruto marched across the playground where he saw several older students crowding around one of his classmates and continuing their cruel taunts. He spotted two pebbles lying on the ground next to his feet. In one swift motion Naruto picked up the pebbles and threw them at two of the bullies.

Both pebbles hit their targets in the back of the head causing the boys to scream in pain. Instantly, the older academy boys turned to see Naruto staring back at them. The leader of the bullies shouted out, "What the hell was that for?!"

"That," Naruto replied as seriously as an eight year old could, "Was for teasing my classmate! You should be ashamed of yourselves for picking on someone."

The leader of the group snorted and shot back "Get real. Why should we be ashamed of treating this trash like he deserves? He's an Uchiha and everyone knows that they're nothing but a bunch of thieving scum!"

A beastly growl escaped from Naruto's mouth that put the bullies on edge. "A man cannot be judged by his parents! The only scum I see are five pompous idiots who are too full of themselves and yet are such cowards that they'll pick on someone four years younger than themselves. Get. Out. NOW!" Naruto started to unconsciously flare his chakra. He wasn't sending out a killing intent, but Naruto was projecting his anger at the older students. This made himself seem much more frightening to them than he otherwise would be.

The five bullies started to slowly back away from Naruto and their previous target. They then started running towards the older classes' cafeteria like something was chasing them. Naruto gave the retreating bullies one last glare as he muttered, "Jerks."

With the losers out of the way, Naruto turned to see Sasuke Uchiha lying on the ground like he had been shoved there with tears threatening to come pouring out of his eyes. Naruto walked over to Sasuke and offered his hand. "Hey there, would you like a hand up?"

Sasuke jerked his head towards Naruto and looked at the offered hand. The young Uchiha's eyes then hardened as he thought of the 'pity' Naruto was showing him. "I don't need your help. In fact, I didn't need your help in the first place."

Naruto blinked his eyes in confusion. "What? But you were-"

Sasuke quickly interrupted Naruto and screamed out. "I didn't need your help!" The young Uchiha forced himself up from the ground and started walking away. As he walked away Sasuke muttered to himself, "Like someone like you could help me."

* * *

"Alright Jiraiya, I'm coming at you with everything I've got!"

"Forget it Naruto, you're too young to beat the Gallant Jiraiya!" The Toad Sage grinned as he watched his godson charge at him wielding the staff Hiruzen had given the boy for his 11th birthday. Jiraiya waited for Naruto to get in close and then he let loose a powerful haymaker. Naruto quickly blocked the punch with one end of his staff and then swept at Jiraiya's legs with the other end. The Toad Sage jumped to avoid the leg attack and flipped in mid-air to avoid a blow to the family jewels.

Once Jiraiya had his feet on the ground he did three back flips to get some distance between him and his godson. The Sannin reached into his vest, pulled out three kunai, and threw them at Naruto. His godson grinned and deflected the kunai with practiced ease. Jiraiya knew that Naruto would deflect the kunai and used this time to go underground.

Naruto quickly realized his godfather's plan and used his staff to assist in leaping to a tree that was some distance away. The young academy student calmly landed on a tree branch and grinned knowing that Jiraiya's plan had failed. Naruto moved to turn and see where Jiraiya would pop up at. However, the blonde found he could not move his legs and looked down to see that the entire tree branch was covered in glue!

"Congratulations Naruto, you just died." Naruto whipped his head towards his godfather's voice and saw Jiraiya standing in a nearby tree branch with his hands forming the tiger seal. Jiraiya immediately canceled the jutsu he had been preparing and sat down on the tree branch. "Come on kid, how many times to I have to tell you to never ever loose track of your opponent? Secondly, why did you jump towards such an obvious trap? Seriously Naruto, this is the only tree within six-hundred meters of this field. Its position as the highest ground on the battlefield makes it a prime trap spot for anyone who gets here first and is fighting a defensive battle. You should have used your pole to jump strait up into the air and prepared a long ranged jutsu to attack me while you were in the air. This would have let you turn the situation against the average ninja."

Naruto nodded his head as he listened to Jiraiya's critiquing. The young Namikaze carefully listened and made sure to memorize what Jiraiya was telling him. His godfather might be the biggest pervert on the continent, but he was also one of the best ninjas a person could find. Soon enough Jiraiya finished explaining everything that Naruto had done right and wrong. With everything explained, Naruto unfastened his shoes and leaped down to the ground. His shoes would be free after the glue evaporated in an hour.

Jiraiya and Naruto quickly got into a taijutsu sparring match. The Toad Sage limited himself to using just a little more skill and strength than Naruto had. Naruto knew that Jiraiya was restricting himself, but didn't bother to complain. This match was to help Naruto improve his skills, not give Jiraiya a punching bag. Back and forth the two fought as time passed by. Naruto rarely if ever got a blow in, but he was slowly winning from simply outlasting Jiraiya.

Finally, after the second hour of the fight Jiraiya called out, "That's enough Naruto. I'm calling this fight a draw." The sweating Sannin sat down in the grass and pulled out bottle of water. He quickly gulped down the water and wiped the sweat away from his face. "Good fight Naruto, if you can just last long enough you'll be able to beat anyone."

Naruto nodded as he caught his breath. The young ninja to be had more stamina than anyone his age had a right to have, but even Naruto couldn't keep fighting for two hours strait without feeling some effects. Both Naruto and Jiraiya quietly sat in the field relaxing after a hard day of training. It was the last week before finals at the Academy and Jiraiya had wanted to make sure his godson was ready before he left to go maintain his spy rings.

The comfortable silence between the two ended when Naruto spoke up. "Jiraiya, there's something I want to ask you. I've always had way more chakra than anyone else my age. I also heal far faster than anyone should by themselves. After all, I've had to do chakra control exercises years before other kids in order to keep control of my enormous chakra stores and I've had cuts heal overnight that would have taken a week to heal for anyone else! Why is that?"

Jiraiya closed his eyes and thought about what he should say. It wasn't like he could just brush Naruto off and tell him to forget about it all. That would simply cause the boy to keep on digging and possibly alert others. But on the other hand, Jiraiya didn't want to hurt Naruto by telling him about the Kyuubi. That could cause him to grow bitter and angry. However, simply leaving everything alone risked letting an enemy be the one to reveal the truth to Naruto and that was unacceptable.

Finally, Jiraiya made up is mind and quickly checked to make sure that they were alone. "Alright Naruto, I'll explain. However, I must impress upon you the importance of keeping what I'm about to tell you secret. If we were not talking about you then you wouldn't be allowed to know. So, once I tell you why you heal so fast and have such abnormally large chakra stores you can't tell anyone."

"It all goes back to your father and his battle with the Kyuubi. As you know, he used the Shiki Fuujin to summon the Shinigami and sealed the Kyuubi away. Originally, this jutsu was designed to immediately send both the caster and the target strait into the Shinigami's stomach. However, there is a catch. The victim is supposed to have their soul filtered by the caster's soul and then both are devoured by the Shinigami. The Kyuubi's power was simply too great for your father to handle and the demon would have simply overloaded the jutsu had Minato not made his revisions."

"This is where your abilities come in Naruto. Minato's revision was to seal the Kyuubi within you because a newborn can adapt to handle demonic chakra and your father wouldn't ask anyone to make a sacrifice he wouldn't make himself. By placing the Kyuubi within you, your father set it up so that the Kyuubi would slowly be prepared to be consumed by the Shinigami over your lifetime. The unique abilities you've displayed are a byproduct of holding the demon."

Naruto blinked his eyes and then nervously asked, "Then the whole Kyuubi being sealed in a safe place for all eternity. Was that all a lie?"

Jiraiya shook his head, "A slight misdirection of the truth. The Kyuubi is sealed for all eternity by the Shinigami as the divinely powered seal makes it impossible for the Kyuubi to escape. Also, what is a safer place to store something? A hidden location that a human can reach or with someone who can defend the item and almost no one knows has the item?"

After carefully thinking about it Naruto answered his godfather. "The second option is the safer way to store something."

The Toad Sage nodded his head. "You're correct Naruto. Now, I want you to remember not to reveal this information to anyone." After Naruto nodded his head Jiraiya changed topics, "Well Naruto lets go eat."

* * *

Naruto walked into his old classroom proudly wearing his new headband and sat down in his old seat one last time. The new genin was also happy to show off his new ninja uniform. This outfit consisted of dark orange pants and a jacket which had black tiger stripes over them along with a black t-shirt underneath the jacket. His staff was stored in a seal on his jacket.

Soon after Naruto sat down his friend Kiba took the seat next to him. The Namikaze and Inuzuka heirs were fairly decent friends and friendly rivals. Kiba looked around the classroom as more former students came in and grinned .He then ribbed Naruto with his elbow. "Hey buddy Hinata's checking you out. Why don't you go and say hello before team placement starts?"

Other than rolling his eyes, Naruto didn't outwardly respond to Kiba's badgering. Dating didn't really have much of a point when one was already betrothed to someone else. Naruto was friendly enough with the girls of his class, but he never did anything that could be construed as more than simple friendship. This never stopped any school girl crushes. However, this policy did prevent the girls from becoming crazy fangirls. Naruto just prayed that things didn't go too crazy when the girls crushing on him found out about Asuka.

Iruka walked into the classroom and started to speak, "Good day my former students. Let me first say something that I have wanted to say ever since the beginning of the year. I hope to never see any one you in here again; especially you Kiba with your pranks." After a round of giggles from the class Iruka continued on. "All joking aside, I must say that it has been a pleasure and an honor to teach all of you. Today I will be turning your education over to Jonins who will help you further in becoming the next generation of ninjas in Konoha. But, before I do that there is the mater of the Rookie of the Year Award."

"Normally, this reward is given to the student who consistently displayed the best understanding and skill in the shinobi arts while attending the Academy. This year is different because we had two individuals whose rankings were too close for the teacher's panel to decide. Therefore, Both Naruto Namikaze and Sasuke Uchiha have been declared by the teacher's panel as this year's Rookies of the Years."

Both boys quickly turned to look at each other while the whole class clapped their hands. Naruto's cheerful and open expression was the direct opposite of the expression on Sasuke's face. The students sitting between the two started to feel a little nervous from the silent energy being exchanged by the boys. This tenseness ended when Sasuke quietly grunted and Naruto ever so slightly nodded his head.

Iruka continued on listing the teams while this was happening. "Our next instructor is Hiashi Hyuuga who will be teaching Ino Yamanaka, Naruto Namikaze, and Shino Aburame. Inochi Yamanaka will be teaching Kiba Inuzuka, Sasuke Uchiha, and Shikimaru Nara. Itachi Uchiha will be teaching Choji Akamichi, Hinata Hyuuga, and Sakura Haruno. Kakhashi Hatake will be teaching-" At this point Naruto only bothered to pay half attention to the list of students and teachers.

Soon enough, Iruka finished the list of teams and explained what the teams were supposed to do. "Now, I want all of you genins to listen up and listen very carefully. Outside the classroom on the bulletin board are clearly written directions to where your instructors will be at in one hour. You must be at the specified location at the specified time. If you are not, then your instructor will deem you as unable to perform the basic functions of a ninja and have you striped of both your ninja license and your chance to reapply to the academy. Once you have met up with your instructor you will be given a team test to see if you are truly ready to be a ninja. The Academy test was simply to see if you had the basic skills down. If you pass your instructor's test you will start your genin training and ninja career. If you fail your instructor's test you will be placed in a one year remittal course here at the academy. Remember, you're supposed to be adults now. Your actions will have consequences for you and your future. Everyone dismissed."

* * *

Hiashi Hyuuga calmly sat on the grass by one of the small streams that ran through Konoha serenely sipping freshly made tea from a small tea kettle he had set up nearby on a rock. As he sat, the Hyuuga clan leader reflected on his current situation. This would be his fourth time as an instructor for a genin squad if his would be pupils passed his test. It was Hiashi's hope that his new potential students would be at least as good as his previous students.

Ino, Shino, and Naruto arrived ten minutes before the time Iruka said they had to be there by. Hiashi held his tea cup near his lips and closed his eyes. "You're too early. Your instructions were to be here one hour after your Academy instructor announced the teams; you were not instructed to arrive here 50 minutes after the announcement. A ninja must be on time and neither early or late. To do either of these will have devastating consequences in combat. Give me a good reason why I shouldn't fail you now for being irresponsible."

Shino's eyebrows appeared above his sun glasses and Ino's eyes bulged out in surprise. However, Naruto quickly bowed his head and answered Hiashi. "We were only informed that there would be penalties if we were late. I suggested to my teammates that we arrive early to insure that we met the deadline."

Hiashi opened his eyes and stared directly at Naruto. Those white eyes seemed to drill into Naruto's blue eyes as Hiashi searched for something. After a few second Hiashi stopped staring and took a sip of his tea. He then set the cup down and announced his decision. "That is sound reasoning for a fresh Academy student and I respect your owning up to your actions. Very well then, you three have passed the first test. If you pass the second test you will be on time for all team meetings."

The Hyuuga clan head pulled out a small scroll and used it to seal up his tea set. He then stood up and looked at the trio in front of him. "Other instructors usually begin this part of the exam with a round of introductions. You should already know each other well enough to work together in this test from your time at the Academy. You also know my name and that is enough while you take your final test. If you pass, I will let you know more about me."

"Your test is simple. I will place a scroll down on the ground, you will pick it up, and then you will do your best to give the scroll to my former student Kurenai. You will be shown a photo of Kurenai and a map of where she will be waiting before the test begins. I will be preventing you from giving the scroll to Kurenai. If she does not receive the scroll within an hour of the test starting you will fail. I will give you five minutes to plan you strategy before the test begins."

Hiashi showed the trio a photo of Kurenai, then showed them a map of where she would be, and finally walked away so that the planning could begin. Naruto immediately pulled his teammates together. "Okay Shino and Ino, we know what we've got to do so do you have any ideas?"

Ino quickly voiced her opinion. "You should carry the scroll Naruto. You did get the best track record out of the three of us at the Academy."

Shino adjusted his sunglasses. "I disagree. Hyuuga would know that Naruto would be the likely carrier for just that reason. Logically Hyuuga will target Naruto, run him down due to better physical conditioning, and take the scroll. Someone else should carry the scroll."

At this point Naruto added his two cents. "Hey, all that matters is that the scroll gets to Kurenai. Since only one person can carry a scroll we should have the other two people delay Hiashi. I'll be one of the delayers and I think Shino should be the other since he's a better fighter then you Ino."

Ino looked like she wanted to punch Naruto, but Shino quickly interfered. "I agree with Naruto. Ino's abilities are not primarily directed towards direct confrontation and should be the runner. However, she should not be the one to pick up the scroll. Naruto should retrieve the scroll and pass it to Ino."

Naruto nodded his head and then both boys turned to look at Ino. "Fine, I'll be the runner. You two had better make sure that our instructor doesn't get close to me because if we have to go to remedial training I will personally turn it into hell for both of you!"

A minute later Hiashi stepped back into the trio's line of sight and called out to them. "Your five minutes are up. The test begins now!" With that, Hiashi threw the scroll at the trio and it landed by their feet. Naruto quickly snatched up the scroll and the trio bolted as Hiashi ran towards them with his bloodline active.

Shino turned around to delay Hiashi by releasing most of his Kikaichu. The small cloud of insects quickly spread out and moved to surround Hiashi. At the same time, Shino jumped into the tree branches to get away from his opponent. The Byakugan would likely find him, but Shino figured that this should delay Hiashi. The Hyuuga clan head would have to take him out to stop the small swarm loosing valuable time to catch his teammates.

To Shino's surprise Hiashi made a fist with his right hand for a few seconds. He then threw a punch while shouting, "Hakke Hasangeki!" There was a momentary white flash of light and then the Kikaichu in the center of the cloud were sent flying. Most of the destruction bugs smashed into the surrounding trees and died on impact. Both of Shino's eyebrows rose above his shades after seeing half of his allies die from a single attack.

However, the young Aburame wasn't about to let his allies die in vain and began throwing his shurikens at Hiashi while jumping from tree to tree. Hiashi quickly jumped out of the way and into the trees. The would-be jonin instructor rapidly closed in on Shino to get within striking range. Shino barely managed to stay one step ahead of his opponent as he kept jumping backwards away from the attacks.

The whole tempo of the fight suddenly changed when Hiashi landed on a tree branch and was struck by a jolt of electricity. He quickly jumped back to the last branch he had been on and started looking. It didn't take the Byakugan wielder much time at all to spot four seal tags. Seals weren't Hiashi's specialty, but he knew that Naruto had received some training in both seal creation and usage from Jiraiya.

Naruto unexpectedly jumped out of the ground behind Hiashi and used Fuuton: Daitoppa before the Jonin could properly react. Hiashi was sent flying towards the barrier and hit it. The young Namikaze quickly landed on the ground and rush towards the barrier. Unlike Hiashi, Naruto passed through the barrier unharmed thanks to a tag he was carrying.

The two genin quickly met up on the other side of the barrier and watched as Hiashi struggled to escape. Naruto turned to look at his partner. "That barrier won't hold him for long him for long Shino. How are you holding up?"

Shino quickly replied, "I've lost many of my Kikaichu, my shuriken supply is down to 15%, and I am rather fatigued from physical exertion." Even with trying to catch his breath the young bug user was able to sound calm and logical.

Naruto nodded his head and pulled a scroll out of his jacket and tossed it to Shino. "There's a hundred shuriken sealed inside. Stay back and distract Hiashi with those while I take him on with my staff." Shino nodded his head and moved into position while Naruto summoned his staff.

They were just in time as the barrier seals gave way and Hiashi landed on the ground steaming mad. Even someone as level headed as the Hyuuga clan head would be enraged after being electrocuted. Naruto was soon at his wits end as he frantically dogged and deflected Hiashi's attack. If it wasn't for Shino and his loaned shurikens Naruto was sure he would have been beaten in the first few seconds.

All too soon, Shino ran out of shuriken. Naruto's comparatively meager defenses soon failed against Hiashi's assault leaving the blond ninja with his tenketsu closed. Shino quickly leaped down from the tree branch and moved to pick up Naruto. However, the young Aburame quickly pined to a nearby tree by kunai.

Both boys were clearly beaten with no hope of being able to delay Hiashi any longer. The Jonin gave a slight nod at the boys' efforts and moved to simply knock them out before he went after Ino. Hiashi's hand was centimeters away from Naruto's neck when a red flare went up in the distance staying Hiashi's hand.

The Hyuuga clan leader looked at the flare for a second and then a small smile appeared on his face. "Well done you two. You managed to delay me long enough for your partner to deliver the scroll to Kurenai. If this had been in the field both of you would be dead or captured by the enemy, but the vital information you would be protecting would be safe. Therefore you have completed your mission and passed this test."

To Naruto's surprise, Hiashi reached down and helped him up. "You both showed acceptable potential today. I will help you reach that potential so that you can complete missions like this and many more without having to sacrifice yourselves."

* * *

Author's Note the Japanese named jutsus are real jutsus from the series and were found at Leafninja. Any jutsus I create will be in English as I don't know how to properly write or speak Japanese. Jutsus listed in order they first appeared in the story

Eight Divination Signs Destructive Mountain Fist. This Anime only jutsu is described as a wave of chakra and I thought it wouldn't be too unreasonable to have it capable of being a ranged attack like another Gentle Fist attack. It seemed like a good idea for a Hyuuga technique to fight against bugs.

Wind Style: Great Breakthrough


	4. Chapter 4

Hiashi walked home after confirming his new team with the register's office in the Hokage tower. He quickly made it to the front of the Hyuuga Clan Complex where he was greeted by the two guards who promptly bowed to their clan head. This greeting was quickly responded to by a slight nod of the head from Hiashi. The clan head then briskly walked into the center of the complex where the main family lived. He then headed to his office and proceeded to tackle his responsibilities as clan head.

Being the head of a major clan was not as time consuming as people might think. Individuals and families within a major clan, even one as centralized as the Hyuuga, had a great deal of autonomy. There were only five situations from the clan members that merited Hiashi's attention as clan head. First was if someone was going to get married. In that situation, his job was to check to make sure that any dowries or bride prices put up were fair and then give the couple his blessing. Next, the clan head was involved if anyone was planning on buying or selling land. This was because land technically belonged to the clan as a whole with the individual being the permanent administrator of the land. After that, came the duty of making sure that the clan had at least the minimum number of shinobi available to meet its quota for the village. Not providing the minimum shinobi would violate the Hyuuga's oath to the Hokage and could cause harsh penalties for the clan if the Hokage wanted to press the issue. Yet another task was representing the clan on certain village religious festivals. Finally, Hiashi had the responsibility to settle internal clan disputes. Issues would only be brought to the courts if the matter involved someone outside the clan.

These duties took very little time to complete. Fifteen minutes once a week because two clan members were arguing over something trivial like whether or not someone's goat had eaten another's flowers was the typical situation that Hiashi found himself in. He also didn't have that much day to day business with the clan finances either. Tithes were paid into the clan fund from missions automatically and he decided which merchant league or craft association those funds should be invested in. Even then, Hiashi pretty much just rubber stamped the decisions after reading an analysis made by one of the clan financial advisors.

Hiashi had just finished looking over the paperwork showing what the clan had made from the butchers' guild when Hinata came into his office. Putting the report down, the clan head turned to face his daughter. He mentally sighed at Hinata's timid demeanor. Hinata would make an almost perfect clan head's wife, but she lacked the will and determination to be the clan head she was supposed to one day be. In a calm and stoic manner Hiashi said, "Yes daughter? Why have you come?"

Much to Hiashi's annoyance, Hinata looked down at the ground and meekly replied, "Sorry father, but you asked that I tell you how my final test went. My team and I passed our test."

While Hiashi was pleased to hear this expected news, the manner in which it was delivered left much to be desired. If only she had looked at him or at least spoke more confidently! The elder Hyuuga let only a measured fraction of his disappointment out as he said, "As expected. You may go now."

Hinata bowed her head, a bit too low for Hiashi's preferences, and then slowly moved towards the door. Hiashi waited until Hinata was out of earshot and then he slammed his fist on his desk. What by the ancestors was he doing wrong? Why couldn't he break his daughter out of her shell and bring the strong young woman inside to the surface? Anyone with any common sense could figure out that Hinata had a strong will given her ability to endure the pressure placed on her without complaint or crying. But why oh why couldn't the girl grow a backbone! All Hiashi asked for was for Hinata to speak up on something she felt was important. Even a little defiance would be good if it showed that Hinata could stand up for herself instead of just folding in like a sack of potatoes.

* * *

The first two months after Team Hiashi formed were spent training and doing missions. Hiashi had set things up so that the team was on a cycle consisting of: one full day training with each other, a day where they were expected to complete two D rank missions, and then a half-day of training as a team. Naruto and Shino both showed solid and steady improvement during this period. Ino had grown the fastest, but she was still below the boys. Her rapid improvement was due to Hiashi pulling her over the side after the first week of training and delivering an ultimatum. Either she could shape up as a konoichi, or she could remain boy obsessed. If she chose the latter, Hiashi would put in the paperwork to have her transferred for black widow training. Needless to say, Ino quickly decided that her training was more important than her looks.

Currently, Team Hiashi was in the mission room. The genin were calmly standing in front of their instructor as he spoke to the Hokage. "Lord Hokage, I respectfully request that my team be allowed to go on a C-rank mission if one is available."

Hiruzen calmly lit his pipe as he discreetly looked over the team's record. The forty D-rank missions and Hiashi's monthly progress reports were impressive. He made his decisions after a few seconds. "Your team has my permission. Iruka, fetch the mission scroll from the Book Merchants' Guild that was filed earlier this morning." The scroll was in Hiruzen's hands a few seconds later allowing the Hokage to read off the mission parameters. "Konoha's chapter of the Book Merchants' Guild requests an escort for a shipment of wares from Konoha to Fire City. Threat level is low with only a minor chance of bandit attack. The mission is estimated to take 9 days in order to reach Fire City. Payment will be in full from the Fire City chapter upon the safe arrival of both the merchants and their wares. The merchants are scheduled to depart at 7 am tomorrow from the northern gate. They request that you be that their escort arrives no later than 15 minutes before departure. Do you accept the mission?"

Hiashi nodded his head and replied, "As the leader of Team Hiashi I accept the mission for my team." The Hokage gave the scroll to Hiashi who then promptly lead his team out of the tower.

Once out of the tower, Hiashi turned around to look at his students. "Let your families know about the mission and pack for 15 days. We will meet again at the usual training ground promptly at 6:30 tomorrow morning. You have the rest of the day off." The Hyuuga clan head then started walking from his students. He pretended not to hear Naruto and Ino's cheers of excitement. Ninjas, to Hiashi, should be calm and in control of themselves when on duty. As long as the trio did this when they were on the clock, he had no problems with how they acted in their free time.

Back with the genins, Naruto had his fist in the air as he yelled out, "Alright! Finally! We've got ourselves a real ninja mission."

Ino grinned at her comrade's enthusiasm and added her two cents. "D ranks may beat what my parents pay me for working in the shop. But, if I had to clean one more clogged sewer drain I'd go nuts."

There was a faint grin on Shino's face showing that the usually stoic young ninja was also excited. However, he quickly acted as the voice of reason for the group. "D rank missions may not be enjoyable, but they were safe. While we are on this upcoming mission, we will have no one to count on but ourselves should something go wrong."

Naruto rolled his eyes and then patted Shino on the back. "Relax man; this is just a simple escort mission. Missions like this are done all the time by genin just like us and most of the time nothing happens. On those rare times when something does happen, it's a bandit or two trying to make a few quick ryo. Now I'm not saying that this will be a breeze, but we were trained to take down bandits back in the Academy."

Shino nodded his head accepting his teammate's argument. "Good point Namikaze. However, it would still be foolish to treat this mission as the other missions we've done. I must head home now so good day to the both of you." With that, Shino left the duo and started heading home.

The Yamanaka flower shop was between Naruto and his house so he and Ino continued walking together for a few more minutes. Ino waited until the flower shop came in sight before she spoke again. "Hey Naruto, do you think I could borrow a sealing scroll? I want to bring my poison kit and I don't want to have to lug it to Fire City and back."

Naruto was digging into his pockets before Ino could finish her explanation. He pulled a scroll out of his jacket and tossed it to his teammate. "Here you go Ino. Just remember that you've got a 20 kg weight limit. If you try to stuff anything heavier into that scroll, it will explode. See you tomorrow!"

It didn't take Naruto long to reach his and Kasumi's house from the flower shop. The young genin opened the front door and saw Kasumi in her favorite chair slowly sipping a cup of tea. Naruto pretended not to notice the small shaking in his old caretaker's arm as she held the tea cup.

Kasumi turned to look at Naruto and she softly spoke. "Hello Naruto. You're home rather early today."

Naruto smiled at his 'grandmother' and he proudly exclaimed, "My team's got a C rank mission! Sensei let us go home early to prepare for the mission. We leave bright and early tomorrow and should be home in 15 days."

There was a soft smile on the elderly woman's face when she heard the news. "That's good to hear Naruto. I know that you'll do well on your mission." Kasumi then slowly put her tea down on the small table next to her chair before continuing. "Why don't I make your favorite dinner tonight to celebrate?" It took the old woman a few seconds to stand up. Once Kasumi was up, she walked towards Naruto and gave him a hug.

After the hug was over, the two separated to do their self-appointed tasks. Kasumi headed to the kitchen to get started on preparing Naruto's favorite meal. Naruto headed upstairs and started packing his supplies for the upcoming mission. Once Naruto finished packing, he placed the pack by the door and started reading a book on intermediate sealing theory.

* * *

Team Hiashi showed up at the northern gate exactly at 6:45 the next morning. The genin calmly stood by the gatehouse as Hiashi approached the head of the merchant team. "My team and I will be your escort on your journey to Fire City." After saying this, Hiashi pulled out the mission scroll and offered it to the lead merchant.

The merchant quickly accepted the scroll and rapidly read it for confirmation. Once the merchant was satisfied he handed the scroll back to Hiashi. "Glad to have you guys with us. If you want, you can ride on the wagons."

Hiashi nodded his head and then gave his response. "Team, I want you to form standard defense formation 5. Ino is to take point with me in front of the first wagon. Naruto and Shino, you two have the second cart." It just took the team a few seconds to take there designated positions.

While this was going on, the merchants were nodding approvingly at the team's professionalism. They had made this trip many times and were used to 'breaking in' rookie genin teams. None of the book merchants had ever gotten a reason to complain about the genins when it came to the ninjas' ability to defend the caravan. However, there was usually a certain naivety among the rookies that was rather grating for the old merchants.

The lead merchant waited until after Team Hiashi was in position to begin his final check of the caravan. Once the lead merchant was satisfied, he stood up and gruffly spoke up. "Alright men, we're wasting daylight so let's move out." The lead merchant then cracked the reigns and the oxen started pulling the wagon.

* * *

Fire City first came into Team Hiashi's view nine days after they set out from Konoha. Naruto paused on a hilltop for just a moment to get a good view of the city below. The outer walls of the city were about as high as the walls of Konoha. Most of the buildings near the walls just had there roofs visible. The taller buildings were more in the center of the city. From his viewing spot it was possible for Naruto to spot some of the major shrines of the city. There was a small rise in the city's elevation towards the southwest end. This was where the Daimyo had built his palace complex.

Naruto would have looked longer at the capital city. However, that would result in him falling out of formation and that was something Naruto didn't want. The team had managed to perform its duty of escorting the merchants wonderfully and Naruto was not about to mess that up after coming so close to finishing the mission. He so smoothly resumed his pace that only Hiashi noticed that the young Namikaze had momentarily stopped walking.

The merchants quickly led their wagons towards the main gate of Fire City. Hiashi spoke up as the group approached the gate. "Remember to have your identification ready and keep a discreet eye on the guards when they check the merchants' wares. Some guards will swipe a few goods from a merchant while checking the convoy." The Genin nodded their heads and pulled out their ID cards.

A slightly overweight guard walked from the guardhouse and approached the merchants. The guard gruffly addressed the group. "Alright, I need to see some names and a list of what you've got. Any funny business and the lot of you can spend the rest of the day in a jail cell until the constable can sort you out."

It didn't take long for the guard to verify that everything was in order. Of course, the harden gaze of Hiashi was very useful in speeding up the process. Once the guard checked everything, both the merchants and Team Hiashi were allowed to enter Fire City. Everyone then headed over to the Book Merchants' Guild Headquarters. The lead merchant turned to Hiashi when they reached the gates of the Headquarters and said, "Mission Accomplished. The money for the mission will be deposited in Konoha's accounts by the end of the day."

Hiashi nodded his head and respectfully answered, "It was our pleasure." He then turned to his genin and simply stated, "Follow me." Naruto, Ino, and Shino nodded their heads and quickly followed their sensei out into the busy streets.

Shortly after leaving the guild headquarters, Naruto spoke up, "Hiashi where are we going?" The young Namikaze had initially thought that they would just head back to Konoha. However, the Hyuuga clan leader wasn't leading them the way they had entered the city. Both Ino and Shino waited eagerly in their own manner to hear their teacher's reply. They also wanted to know, but unlike Naruto they weren't about to ask.

Hiashi answered his student's question in his typical calm and regal manner. "Konoha has a hall every major city in Fire Country. These halls allow us to receive missions from more clients and serve as a friendly place to rest after a mission. We are going to go to the Fire City Hall to report the success of our mission and rest for today. We'll start heading back to Konoha tomorrow."

It didn't take long for Team Hiashi to reach Konoha's hall. The hall itself was a rather simple building that had only two distinguishing features. First, the Konoha emblem was proudly displayed on banners visible from all four sides. The second distinguishing feature was the high wall and guard towers surrounding the hall. This made the ninja outpost a literal fortress within the commercial sector.

Team Hiashi quickly showed their papers to the guard at the hall's main gate and then were promptly let into the shinobi section of the hall. Once inside, Hiashi spoke up. "The three of you may select any empty room on the genin floor to stay in tonight. But remember, you're only genins so the three of you must share the same room. I'll be on the Jonin floor if you need me. You may leave and explore the city if you wish. However, you will be back in the hall by sundown if you decide to go out. Is that understood?"

The three genins nodded their heads and then walked into the hallway where the genin rooms were located. Ino quickly turned to her teammates and spoke up, "Alright boys. I'm selecting the room we're staying in. Is that clear?"

Naruto and Shino both silently nodded their heads. It didn't matter to them which room they stayed in. The boys quickly followed behind Ino as she led them down the hall until she found a room that she liked and wrote the team's name on the chalkboard attached to the door. Once inside, Ino spoke up again. "I'm taking the single bed. You two can sort out who gets which bunk on the bunk bed. I'm going to go explore the city and I expect to have the single bed when I get back."

After Ino left, Naruto turned to face Shino and asked "Top?" Shino quickly gave the young Namikaze a glare which caused Naruto to sigh. "How about rock-paper-scissors and the winner get's the top?"

Shino nodded his head and replied, "Agreed."

The two young ninjas quickly started their game for the bunk. A small smug smirk appeared on Shino's face when he won the game. The young bug wielder quickly climbed up the ladder to cement his claim before Naruto could call a rematch. Naruto grudgingly took the lower bunk. For the next couple of hours, the boys quietly read some books that they had brought along.

* * *

Exactly 15 days after they left, Team Hiashi returned to Konoha and stood before the Hokage. Hiruzen patiently waited as Hiashi gave his report. Occasionally, the old leader would nod his head when the Jonin related something of importance. After Hiashi finished, the Hokage put his pipe down and spoke. "So you had a routine escort mission and encountered no threats during the mission. Furthermore, the caravan you were protected arrived on time and the merchants had no cause for complaint from any member of your team. Good job Team Hiashi. If you keep up the good work I may be willing to let you take more C-rank missions in the future."

All members of the team nodded their heads accepting the Hokage's praise. While Shino and Hiashi kept their usual stoic expressions, Ino and Naruto both started grinning at this news. Hiashi then asked, "Is that all sir?"

Hiruzen nodded his head. "Team Hiashi is dismissed. However, I request that genin Namikaze stay for the moment. The rest of you may leave." Ino and Shino glanced at their teammate whose face clearly showed his surprise at the Hokage's request. Hiashi place his hand firmly on Naruto's shoulder for a second and then he lead the other two members of the team out of the office.

Now alone with the Hokage, Naruto gulped wondering why he was being singled out like this. "Sir, why did you request that I stay behind?"

Hiruzen sighed and took off his kage's hat. "Naruto, I've got some bad news to tell you. Kasumi passed away while you were out on your mission. The doctors determined that she passed away due to natural organ failure of her lungs while she was sleeping."

Naruto's eyes were closed with his face scrunched up and tears freely flowing. He started shaking his head and then screamed out, "No! That can't be. Kasumi can't be dead! You've got to be lying." On and on Naruto screamed as he attempted to drain his tear ducts. Flashes of all the good times he had with his 'grandmother' flashed through the young Namikaze's mind. The thought that he would never be able to have another moment with Kasumi tore at his heart.

The old Hokage silently let Naruto cry for a few minutes. After all, the boy did need to get it out of his system. Eventually, Hiruzen decided that Naruto had carried on long enough. The Hokage got out of his chair, walked towards Naruto, and firmly put his old hand on the boy's shoulder. "That's enough Naruto. Kasumi would not want you to carry on like this."

With tears still in his eyes, Naruto looked up at Hiruzen. "But Grandfather, I can't help it. It just hurts too much: I miss Grandma!"

Hiruzen hunched down so that he and Naruto were eye level. "Of course it hurts Naruto. The loss of anyone you care about will hurt; its part of what being human is all about. However, you must learn to move beyond the hurt and remember all of the good times you had with Kasumi. Its not easy and it will take time, but eventually the pain will subside leaving you with just your fond memories of your times with your grandmother."

"It's not fair." Naruto pouted as his tears slowed down. "Kasumi was a civilian. I'm a ninja. If anyone should have been hurt while I was on the mission it should have been me."

The old leader shook his head and then softly replied to his subordinated. "Death eventually comes for us all Naruto. This is a fact of life. Kasumi was old. In fact she was almost a decade older than I am. She got to live a long and full life that ended peacefully in her sleep. Do not begrudge the Shinigami for that. If one of you had to die, would it be fair for you, who are young and have your life ahead of you, to die and her to live?"

Slowly, ever so slowly, Naruto's mind came to accept what Hiruzen was telling him. "It wouldn't be fair. But, that still doesn't stop the pain."

Hiruzen nodded his head. "As I said, the pain will ease with time. Why don't you go and find something to do in the village to try and distract yourself for a bit? You could then go back home if you wish, Kasumi left everything she had to you, or you could move into your parents house. Don't worry about your team; I'm putting Team Hiashi on standby for a week to give you some cooping time. But please Naruto, don't isolate yourself or push away from your friends in your grief. A pain shared is a pain halved."

* * *

Ino was a kunoichi on a mission. She was currently racing through the streets of Konoha as fast as she could towards the Aburame Compound. The young mindwalker had just heard about Naruto's Grandmother's passing from her mom and was determined to find Naruto. However, Ino knew that she was the worst tracker on her team and that Naruto was very good at hiding when he wanted to.

Once Ino reached the Aburame compound, she ran up to the main door and started banging on it. A cousin of Shino's, Ino didn't know the man's name, opened the door. The Aburame looked at Ino with a hint of annoyance. "What emergency has caused such an expressive greeting?"

Ino sent the older ninja a frightening glare and she practically screamed out, "Team emergency. Tell Shino that he needs to get his bug infested butt out here right now!"

The Aburame didn't need to call Shino; the young man had quite clearly heard his teammate's yells. Shino quickly appeared in the doorway and he calmly stated, "What is the matter Ino?"

Ino quickly grabbed her stoic teammate and yanked him out of his house. "Look Shino, I just found out that Naruto's grandmother died which means that HE just found out. We're going to go make sure that he's okay and you're going to find him for us!"

Shino thought about suggesting that they just let Naruto have his space. However, Ino was very persuasive and the bug wielder decided that it was in his best interests to follow her suggestion. "My kikai insects are tracking Naruto as I speak. They will locate him shortly Ino. So, would you please let me down?" Why oh why did his teammate have to be so troublesome?

There was a small thud when Shino's butt fell on the ground. Luckily for Shino, his kikai bugs quickly reported back so he wouldn't have to deal with Ino's impatience on top of this indignity. Shino then adjusted his glasses and got off the ground to look the blond kounoichi in the eye. "Naruto is due west of here. I'll be able to locate him more precisely the closer we get to him."

Both genins quickly took off on their hunt for Naruto. Ten minutes later, they found him sitting on a single rope tree swing in one of the smaller parks. Ino and Shino quickly noticed the depressed expression on Naruto's face. It just seemed so wrong for their normally cheerful teammate to be that sad. An unhappy Naruto was as natural as an emo clown.

Ino slowly started to approach her teammate and wondered what she should say. She had been so focused on finding Naruto that she hadn't considered what to do once he had been found. "Um Naruto, are you alright?" The young kunoichi immediately felt like kicking herself after the words left her mouth. Of course her teammate wasn't alright! That's why she was here in the first place!

"This was her favorite park." Naruto muttered from the swing. "She always used to bring me here when I was little to play. I can still remember the first time I was on this swing. Heck, I can still remember the clothes I was wearing and where all of the other kids where when she gave me that first push."

Naruto couldn't continue speaking because of the tears that started pouring out. Ino walked closer to Naruto and pulled him into a hug letting him cry on her shoulder. The young Yamanaka continued to let her teammate cry on her shoulder as she didn't know any other way to help him.

Slowly, the proximity of his friends and teammates allowed Naruto to regain some control. He gently pulled away from Ino and then started scratching the back on his head. "Sorry about getting your blouse all wet Ino."

The blond kunoichi rolled her eyes at her friend's antics. "Don't get used to it Naruto. You're not my type." Luckily for Ino, Naruto couldn't see the faint blush that had appeared on her face.

Shino chose this moment to step forward. "There is no shame in feeling sad Naruto. Miss. Takahashi was a wonderful woman and a good mother to you. It would be distressing if her passing had not affected you so."

Naruto looked at his teammates for a few seconds and then gave a small, soft smile. "Thanks you two. I really needed a friend after Grandpa told me about Kasumi."

Ino put her hands on her hips and then playfully shook her head. "Well lucky for you Naruto today is a two for one special." The young kunoichi they turned to Shino and called out, "Hey Shino! Let's take Naruto over to Ichikaru's. Ayame should be helping out her father today if they're staying with the same schedule."

Shino nodded his head in agreement. The ramen restaurant was always busy on the days when the Uchiha matriarch took a turn in the kitchen. Keeping Naruto around people in one of his favorite places would be a wise thing to do in this situation. The only thing Shino didn't like was how empty his pocket book was likely going to be after this was all over. Still, it was only money and this was for his friend's well being.

* * *

Author's note: I want to address something that has been brought up before and will likely be brought up. Konoha is a military dictatorship with a feudal like structure. The fanon 'council' will not exist. The Hokage can call a meeting of his top retainers, but he calls the shots. Hiashi is a clan head, but that does not make him a politician.


	5. Chapter 5

Team Hiashi was hard at work training in one of the many practice fields of Konoha. Currently, Hiashi and Ino were watching as Shino and Naruto took a turn sparing. Naruto was wielding his bo staff while Shino used a kusarigama, a sickle with a ball and chain attached. Currently, the boys were working on their skill with their main weapons. Hiashi had his Byakugan activated in order make sure that neither boy used any Chakra to enhance their abilities.

Hiashi nodded as Naruto ducked under Shino's swing with the ball and then used his staff to ensnare the chain. "Remember to pay very close attention to your teammates' movements Ino. The Bo staff is a very useful weapon for a ninja as it grants the user both offensive and defensive abilities in equal measure. The kusarigama emphasizes offensive action for both its attack and to defend the user. A kusarigama has a longer range then a staff, but it also is harder to disguise. You will need to think of these issues if you choose to select a personal weapon to augment your abilities."

Naruto finished the fight by punching Shino in the head just as Hiashi was finished speaking. The white eyed jonin instructor stood up and looked at the two young shinobi in front of him. "Victory for the spar goes to Naruto. However, it would be wise for you in the future Naruto to not punch your opponent like that in a real fight. Had Shino not been forbidden, he could have used the personal contact to transfer his kakai insects onto you. Such an event would more likely than not result in you joining him in defeat shortly afterward. Still, your technique was good like expected and you handled yourself very well for your current level of training."

Hiashi then turned to Shino and gave his critique of the bug wielder's performance. "Your performance Shino was proficient as expected. Your execution of standard beginning and intermediate katas with the kusarigama was exactly as should be done. However, that in and of itself is a problem. Katas are for practicing and switching between moves, they are not meant for fighting. You lapsed into a preset kata 3 times during your spar. I will admit that you lapse far less then most genins of your skill level with the kusarigama would, but falling into preset form even once in a life-or-death match will get you killed. Still, your skill is enough that you can defend yourself from the typical genin with your current abilities."

Both boys bowed to their instructor and then gave each other a polite nod. They then put their weapons away in storage seals. Once the weapons were sealed, both boys headed towards their third teammate and their sensei. Naruto turned his head while he was walking and then cheerfully told Shino, "So what's the count?"

"I highly doubt you lost count of our win/loss ratio Naruto." Shino calmly stated this without turning to look at his comrade.

"Seriously Shino, I don't exactly keep track of that sort of stuff. Well, not in my head. I've got a scorecard back home, but it's not like I can just summon it to me now."

It did not surprise Shino at all that Naruto had a scorecard. Naruto wasn't a braggart by any stretch of the imagination. His dream for the future might be to become greater than his father, but that was normal for young men. Most likely, Shino figured, Naruto kept a record of his wins and losses to spur himself into doing better in the future.

Hiashi spoke after the boys were right in front of him. "Training for today is almost over. However, I want each of you to state what your skills are and any knew techniques you've learned on your own over the past month. As part of a team, it is imperative that you are aware of exactly what you and your teammates are capable of. Ino, you will start off and then Naruto can speak."

Ino nodded her head and began her explanation. "As you guys know, I've got decent taijutsu. My skills with kunai and shuriken are average. I've also been practicing with senbon needles as I mentioned last month and currently my skill with the needles is higher than my skill with kunai or shuriken. I currently have a lot of skill in basic poisons and have been starting to learn about intermediate level poisons. I also have a decent level of skill in some basic genjutsus and I'm great with the Shintenshin jutsu."

Naruto then took over from Ino. "Okay, I've got good taijutsu and great bojutsu. My skill at throwing kunai and shuriken is good but not great. Currently, I'm one of the best sealmakers in the village, but that's not saying much as most people barely learn how to make exploding tags and basic storage seals. Currently, I know four jutsus besides the academy ones. These are Fuuton: Daitoppa, Fuuton: Reppushou, Katon: Goukakyuu, and Kage Bunshin."

Finally, Shino took his turn at explaining his skills. "My main skills focus on the use of my kakai insects. With my allies I am able to attack enemies, defend teammates, and track almost any target I may be called on to track. In addition, I have refined the basic required genin skill set and my kusarigama training."

Hiashi wait a few seconds after Shino finished before he addressed his students again. "Today's team training is over. I expect you all to report here promptly at seven tomorrow morning so that we can receive a mission." The Hyuga clan head then quietly left the training field.

Ino sighed and then stated, "Glad that's over, if Sensei had decided to make this an extra long training session I wouldn't be able to get to the market before closing bell. Fashion First is having a sale on a shipment from Honey Country and I don't intend to be the only girl on the block to not have a new honey outfit. Hey Shino and Naruto, would you mind coming with me and helping me select my outfit?" The young mindwalker turned around to check on her pack mules only to see falling leaves. A tick appeared on Ino's forehead and she shouted out, "Hey you jerks, why didn't you mention you could do the Shunshin jutsu!"

* * *

The next day Team Hiashi showed up at the Hokage Tower to receive a mission. Shino and Naruto were both sporting a rather large bump on their heads courtesy of Ino. She had still been steamed that morning over their disappearing act, but the boys thought that it was a bargain price for getting out of shopping with her. They were shinobi, not glorified baggage holders.

Hiruzen was sitting at the desk giving out missions when Team Hiashi came up. Hiashi bowed his head to Hiruzen and said, "Lord Hokage, I respectfully request a mission for my team."

The old Hokage nodded his head slightly in acceptance and then looked at the mission list for the day. Hiruzen spotted one particular mission, briefly glanced at Naruto, and then nodded his head slightly. "There is a mission that I think your team is well suited for Hiashi. It's a B rank mission, but threat level is minimal. This mission, if you chose to accept it, is to journey to Iwa in order to deliver the invitations to the Chunin Exams and then to escort the Iwa applicants to Konoha for the exam next month."

Much to Ino and Shino's surprise, Hiashi glanced at Naruto as if he was silently asking the young genin what he thought about the mission. Naruto then shocked his fellow genin by speaking to the Hokage. "Sir, is our suitability for this mission due to the Tenjouin Clan?"

Hiruzen quickly answered his subordinate. "Officially, the Tenjouin have nothing to do with this mission. Unofficially, both the Tsuchikage and the Tenjouin clan head have preferences on who is on our escort team."

Hiashi then spoke up, "Understood sir. As the leader of Team Hiashi I accept this mission. What is the departure time?"

The Hokage took a puff of his pipe and then answered, "The departure time is as soon as your team is ready for a month long diplomatic mission. Funds for lodging while in Iwa will not need to be drawn from the treasury. Due to certain circumstances", Hiruzen paused to once again glance at Naruto, "the Tenjouin clan will be hosting your team during you stay in Iwa."

Hiashi nodded his head and then received the relevant documents for the mission from the Hokage. He then lead his team out of the Hokage Tower and stated, "Pack your supplies and we'll meet up at the western gate in four hours." Hiashi then left to make his own preparations for the mission.

Naruto was about to leave so that he could do the same. However, Ino grabbed Naruto's collar and turned her fellow blonde to face his teammates. "Alright Naruto," Ino practically growled out, "start talking!"

The young Namikaze heir tried to play dumb. "Huh, what are you talking about Ino?"

Ino gave Naruto a rough tug on the collar to pull him closer. "I'm talking about you and this mission Naruto! Just who are the Tenjouin and why are you so concerned about them? Furthermore, why does your presence on this mission mean that we'll be staying with an Iwa clan instead of at a hotel?"

Shino surprised both blonds by suddenly speaking up. "I've heard of the Tenjouin Clan before. My father mentioned that they were infamously known as the Golem Generals because of their clan techniques. Furthermore, they are one of the three original founding clans of Iwa along with the Muto and the Kaiba clans. The only other thing I know about them is that the late wife of the current Tsuchikage was a Tenjouin."

Ino nodded her head and replied, "Thanks for the info Shino. Still, that doesn't explain why Naruto here is so concerned about them. So once again Naruto, you'd better start talking."

Naruto sighed and held up his hands in defeat. "Alright, alright, I'll talk. The reason why I was so concerned about the Tenjouin and the reason they're letting us stay at their estate is simple. My fiancée is the daughter of the Tenjouin clan head."

The blond mind reader let go of her comrade in shock. She then stuttered out, "fiancée?" Shino looked unsettled and mildly surprised when he heard Naruto say that he was engaged. Of course, this meant that Shino was actually completely shocked.

Naruto sighed and then proceeded to explain things to his teammates. "It's part of the treaty that ended the Third Shinobi War. My marriage was arranged before I was even born; had I been a girl I would have been engaged to my fiancée's older brother instead."

Ino tried to wrap her mind around what her friend was telling her. She then started to get angry and demanded, "Why didn't you tell us sooner? We're your teammates, don't you think that I deserve to know about something like this!" Ino was so upset about this that she didn't even realize that she had slipped up.

The young man in question quickly replied, "I found out when I was six years old. There was no way I was going to mention it then because I would have been constantly teased about it by the rest of the boys. As I got older I figured that it was a private matter and didn't need to be known to everyone. Sorry if it hurts your feelings, but neither of you needed to know about this until now so I didn't tell you."

Shino walked over to Naruto and firmly placed his hand on the boy's shoulder. He then gave his teammate a slight nod and then removed the hand. The insect wielder then received a nod from Naruto. Both boys were now clear that everything was alright between them.

Ino on the other hand remained silent as she stared at Naruto and tried to process what he had said. Wasn't she Naruto's friend and teammate? Why hadn't he trusted her with this news? This confusion only added to the turmoil that was brewing in her heart.

* * *

Team Hiashi was currently standing in the lobby of an inn located in a small town 11 km away from Iwa. The team still had to obey the treaty and wait for an escort into Iwa even though their mission was a diplomatic one. Hiashi and Shino were patiently sipping some tea while they waited, Naruto was drumming his fingers against the table, and Ino was in a bad mood. Actually, the blond haired girl had been in a bad mood all week, but her teammates weren't about to point that out.

Soon enough, a man wearing a jonin vest and an Iwa headband approached the quartet. The main politely bowed his head to Hiashi and said, "I take you that you are the courier team from Konoha."

Hiashi nodded his head. "That we are. I take it that you are part of our escort to Iwa."

The Iwa Jonin curtly nodded his head again. "I am Ryo Marufugi. My genin team and I have been tasked with seeing you to our village. If you will follow me I will lead you to my team." With that, Ryo promptly turned around and started walking towards the door. Team Hiashi quickly got out of their seats and followed Ryo.

Naruto stopped in mid step when he exited the inn. His eyes instantly focused on one genin on Ryo's team: his fiancée Asuka. She was even more beautiful in real life then in her photo. The first aspect of her that drew Naruto's attention was her face. It seemed to be set in a half-serious expression that could allow her to smile or fight in an instant. After a few seconds, Naruto's gaze sifted allowing him to look at the rest of her. Asuka was wearing a sleeveless white blouse with blue highlights, a blue miniskirt that was just perfect for letting her distract opponents, and blue fingerless gloves that almost came up to her elbows. At first glance one would have trouble believing that she was a kunoichi from her outfit except for her headband and shuriken pouch on her leg. However, Jiraiya had taught Naruto to not underestimate kunoichi and so he was able to spot the hidden weapons and supplies that were hidden.

At the same time, Asuka's gaze was locked onto Naruto. She also instantly recognized him since she had his picture by her bed. Her eyes carefully glanced over him noting the signs indicating that he would be both strong and handsome one day. At the moment he was good for his age and cute. She also noted that he was looking at her and was flattered that he found her attractive without acting like a pervert. Of course, she knew that he wasn't from what he wrote, but a girl couldn't be too sure.

This private moment between the two ended when Fubuki Tenjouin placed a hand on his sister's shoulder. "Hey Sis, couldn't you at least wait until we get home before you and your future hubby get all love-struck?"

Asuka quickly turned to glare at her joker of a big brother. She would have done more, but Ryo spoke up with a hint of annoyance. "As I was saying, these are my genin students. From left to right we have Asuka Tenjouin, Fubuki Tenjouin, and Daichi Misawa. Each of my students is to be paired with a Konoha genin until we reach Iwa and the Tsuchikage finalizes your stay."

Hiashi nodded his head and quickly gave out orders to his genin. "Naruto, you are to stay with Asuka. Shino, you are to stick close to Fubuki. Ino, keep close to Daichi." These arrangements would have normally called for Asuka and Ino to be partnered up. However, Hiashi wasn't blind and he knew Ino wasn't in the best of moods over her teammate's status.

Ryo nodded his head to confirm the arrangement and then the eight ninjas proceeded to Iwa. The first eight km of the journey were simple for the ninjas as they just traveled through the trees. But, things abruptly changed for the last two km towards Iwa. At this point the forest gave way to a jaggy mountain range. Ryo signaled for everyone to stop and then he addressed the Konoha ninjas. "These mountains contain heavy deposits of mithralite, a mineral that is resistant to chakra. This makes walk walking on the mountain deadly unless you know exactly were the mithralite deposits aren't in high concentrations. From this point on we walk."

True to Ryo's word, the eight ninjas had to walk the last two km to Iwa over winding paths that were little better than goat trails. The trails served Iwa as the wall around the village did for Konoha. You literally had to walk single-file most of the way there or fall off a cliff. Occasionally, there was a watch tower that had to be passed or a draw bridge that one had to go over. Naruto and the other Konoha ninjas had to privately admit that the village hidden in the mountains was in a more defensible position than Konoha was. The trade off to this was that it must be a horrendous task to keep Iwa properly supplied.

Eventually, the eight ninjas completed the treacherous trek to reach Iwa. Ryo's team then promptly lead Team Hiashi to the Tsuchikage Hall to meet with the village's kage. Oonoki was sitting at his desk fighting the bane of all leaders, paperwork, when the eight were let in. The old leader looked up at Ryo and barked, "I was expecting you a few minutes ago!"

Ryo deeply bowed and apologized, "I'm terribly sorry sir. However, we were delayed due to the Konoha ninja's unfamiliarity with the paths to our village."

Oonoki got up on his desk and muttered to himself. "Well, I suppose that's a good reason for being late. Don't want foreign ninja knowing their way around these mountains after all. The Tsuchikage then hopped off his desk, straightened out his back, and then turned to Hiashi. "Alright you overgrown brat, why are you here?"

For a split second Hiashi's face betrayed his annoyance before his self-control took over. "We were sent to bring Iwa its invitation to the Chunin exams being held in Konoha and to escort your contestants back to Konoha." Hiashi then reached into his jacket, pulled out the invitation, and handed it to Oonoki.

The old kage quickly opened the invitation and began to read it. He nodded his head a few times and then threw the document onto his leaning tower of paperwork to do. Oonoki then turned around and waved off everyone. "I'll have the list of applicants by the end of the week. In the meantime, I'd suggest that you Konoha ninjas stay out of trouble. Asuka and Fubuki, see to it that our village's guests make it safely to your family's manor."

Both siblings bowed their heads. "Yes uncle," they both said at the same time. Ino immediately did a double-take and then glared at Naruto. The other blond of Team Hiashi simply nodded his head. He then wished he had fainted ignorance because of the promise of pain on Ino's face. Why oh why was she upset with him over this fact? The Tsuchikage had started the engagement clause in the treaty so was it any surprise that he'd be related to the Iwa party?

Neither Tenjouin sibling seemed to pay any attention to the drama occurring in Team Hiashi as then moved towards the door. They then left the room with the Konoha ninjas following them while their teammates went somewhere else. The six walked through the main streets of Iwa for a while until they reach a set of steps that lead down to a carved plateau. Everyone then passed by several carved arena areas as they made their way to the single tower on the plateau.

Fubuki then turned around. "Welcome to our not so humble home. We'll just need to check in with father in order to see what wing and floor has been prepared for you all to stay in while you're here." Fubuki then grabbed Naruto into a headlock and whispered, "A word of caution for you, my soon to be little brother. Father seems to know everything that happens in the house so it's best for you and sis to be outside if you want to make-out."

A blush quickly formed on Naruto's face and then he promptly elbowed Fubuki in the gut. Asuka shook her head in embarrassment at her brother's actions. She then bowed to Hiashi, "Please forgive my brother's rudeness sir. He's a very competent ninja for his age, but he likes to goof off when not on duty. Let me lead you to my parents." Asuka then quickly lead everyone into the house before Fubuki could embarrass her any more.

* * *

The sunset here in Iwa was magnificent. Naruto could privately admit that to himself as he watched as the red and orange hues danced across the mountains. Currently, the young Namikaze was sitting on the balcony ledge attached to his room. If he glanced down and to the right he could just barely spot the window of Shino's room. Unlike is teammates, Naruto's quarters were on the family level instead of the guest level.

Naruto turned his head from sight of the mountains when he heard the door to his room open. He then listened as someone quickly but lightly walked to the door to the balcony and Asuka came out. She promptly walked over the ledge and rested her elbows on it. The two then turned and looked at each other wondering what they should do as they realized that this was the first time they had been alone with each other. Silently, the duo tried to sort out their feelings and think about what they each should do.

Finally, Naruto broke the silence. "Am I as bad in person as I seemed to be in my letters?"

A small smile formed on Asuka's face. "You didn't seem like a bad person at all in your letters Naruto. Now that I've met you in person I think that you're even better than I had thought. What about me? How do I compare with the Asuka you built up in your mind?"

Naruto also smiled as he replied, "What I've seen so far has shown me that you're at least as great as I thought. From what I can tell your skills as a ninja are good. Although, I would like a spar to see exactly how good you are for myself. Also, you're even more beautiful than your photo showed."

Asuka nodded her head to accept Naruto's words. She then sighed as she looked out on the mountains. "I'll miss this when it comes time for our marriage. I'm sure that there are some lovely spots around Konoha, but I do so love looking at the mountains; especially at this time."

Naruto leaded over and gently placed a hand on Asuka's shoulder. "Don't worry; our marriage isn't for two more years yet. That means you have two whole years to look at the mountains."

Part of the sadness Asuka felt at the though of permanently leaving her home vanished at Naruto's words. However, a part of it still remained to bug her. "But Naruto, those two years are the longest that the marriage will be held off. Don't you remember the conditions of the treaty? Our marriage will take place when either we're either sixteen or both chunin, whichever comes first. We could end up married in less then two months."

Privately, Naruto had to admit that such a possibility was true, but more likely than not remote. "That would only happen if we both became chunin at the upcoming exam Asuka. Now I'm sure that your skills are good enough for you to get the title if your team is sent. However, I'm still a rookie genin. It's extremely unlikely that Hiashi will enter my team into the exams. Even if he did, it would be even more unlikely that I'd be promoted. I'm very good for my experience level, but that's still a lower level then most of the contestants at the exam. So you see, you don't have to worry about us getting married in the next couple of months."

A full smile graced Asuka's face when she heard Naruto's comforting words. "Thank you Naruto." The two of them then silently watched as the sun finished setting. In the peaceful silence of the sun's decent the two who were both strangers and very close friends to each other were able to find a common bond. They whose paths were set to cross for so long knew that they would be able to make their future marriage work. This they each promised themselves for both each other's happiness and the future of their villages.

* * *

Ino was having a tough time getting to sleep. She always had a tough time getting to sleep whenever she wasn't in her bed back home. Personally, Ino blamed the Academy and their situational awareness training summer camp. Who was the sadistic jerk that came up with the idea of having students camp out in the forest while the instructors sneak about and pour cold paint on the students? Meanwhile, back in Konoha Iruka started sneezing.

Just as Ino was finally getting comfortable, she heard something faintly echoing. The young mindreader instantly got up and listened for the sound. She quickly heard the faint sound of someone walking about upstairs. Furthermore, the sound seemed to be moving towards Naruto's room. Curious, and a bit worried for her teammate, Ino got up and crept out of her room. She quickly headed to the stairs and then silently walked up them to the family level.

The young Yamanaka reached the top of the stairs just in time to see someone open the door to Naruto's room. She couldn't see who had entered because the door was in her line of sight. For a split second Ino hesitated over what she should do. On the one hand, she was not supposed to be up here without being escorted by a member of the Tenjounin Clan. On the other hand, she was already up here and something had to be happening to Naruto.

It didn't take Ino long to make up her mind. She quickly snuck over to the door and peered inside Naruto's room. To Ino surprise and worry Asuka was standing in Naruto's room holding a candle holder with a large lit candle on in. What by Benten could she possibly be doing? That was the question on Ino's mind.

Asuka walked to the foot of Naruto's bed where there was a cabinet drawer and a small ledge. She then put her candle down on the ledge, opened the drawer, and pulled out two candles. The candles were paced on opposite ends of the ledge and then the lit candle was gently picked up. Asuka gulped for a second and then calmed herself down. It wouldn't be right to be nervous with what she had to do.

Naruto's fiancée then began to quietly chant; her chanting was so low that Ino could barely make out Asuka's words. "Here my plea, Oh ancestors of mine for I have great need of your wisdom. The one who lays here before me claims me by way of peace bond between his people and mine. As a daughter of the Tenjounin Clan and sicon of the Tengeri people, I beseech your aid in judging this claim."

Asuka lit the candle on the right and then placed her original on the ledge. She then took up the newly lit candle and started walking along the right side of Naruto's bed. "I present to you, ye who bore she who bore me, Naruto the child of Kushina. May your spirits come here this night to judge his worthiness. Does he meet with your approval? Do you foresee him as a good man for my hand? Is his seed fit to be planted in my womb? Should he be trusted with lordship over me?" After saying this, Asuka gently placed the candle on the right side of the ledge above Naruto's head and then walked back to the foot of the bed.

She then lit the other candle and walked along the left side of Naruto's bed. "I present to you, ye who provided for he who provided for me, Naruto the son of Minato. May your spirits come here this night to judge his worthiness. Does he meet with your approval? Do you trust him with the honor of your lineage? Is he capable of providing for me and my young? Should he be given my heart and body?" Asuka then placed the candle on the left side of the ledge and headed back to the foot of the bed.

Once at the foot of the bed, Asuka picked up her original candle and slowly moved it counter-clockwise. "Let my ancestor's spirits caste their judgement, Oh great lord of Yomi. Let my dreams disclose that which they have decided. What they decide I will do." Asuka then placed the candle at the center of the foot ledge, back a few steps way from Naruto's bed, and bowed her head seven times.

Ino noticed that Asuka was moving to leave and quickly pressed her back against the wall hiding behind the door. She remained silent as Asuka walked out of Naruto's room and then headed across the room. Asuka then entered her room and closed the door. Ino waited a few minutes for Asuka to stop moving and then snuck back down to her own room. All the while, Ino was wondering what she had just witnessed.

* * *

Author's Notes: here are the canon jutsus used in this chapter in their English translations listed in order of first appearing: Mind Body Change technique, Wind Style: Great Breakthrough, Wind Style: Gale Wind Palm, Fire Style: Great Fireball, Shadow clone. Body flicker technique.


	6. Chapter 6

Asuka woke up as the first rays of sunlight came through her window and touched her bed. The Tenjouin heiress sprang up from her pillow with a heavy blush on her cheeks. She quickly got out of bed, grabbed a robe, then picked up a change of clothes, and left her room for the manor's main baths. While each bedroom on the family wing had its own bath, they paled in comparison to the main baths. Asuka quickly made use of a private set of stairs that lead from the family level to where the baths were located. This staircase had been built in the original design of the family manor because Asuka's great-grandfather thought it was tacky for the family to have to walk through the guest level to get to the baths.

When Asuka opened the door to the women's bath she found that her mother Kawai was already enjoying the baths. Kawai glanced over to her daughter and smiled, "Put down your things already Asuka and come on in."

The younger Tenjouin smiled and called out, "Just a second mom." She then quickly stored her things and joined her mother in bath. The bath itself was crafted to look like it was a hot spring instead of just being a simple bath. Mother and daughter then quietly proceeded to clean themselves.

Towards the end of the bath, Kawai spoke up again. "Would you like me to take care of your hair Asuka?"

"Sure mother."

Kawai quickly started to wash Asuka's hair. Once she was sure her daughter was relaxed enough, the Tenjounin matriarch spoke up. "So daughter, what was the dream your ancestors sent to you about Naruto?"

"What? Mother, how could you just ask that?" Asuka couldn't believe that her mother had just done that.

Kawai simply smiled and continued to wash her daughter's hair. "Oh come now my little Asuka. There's no need to hide what the ancestors showed you. Talking about the vision helps one to understand what one's ancestors are trying to say. It's just the two of us here and I promise not to whisper a word about what your vision held."

Asuka thought about what her mother was saying and had to admit that there was some truth to her words. Talking about the vision would help her understand it better. However, did she really want to talk about something like that with her mother? On the other hand, who else was she going to talk to about the vision? Her two friends from the Institute were out. They meant well, but those two could be such blabbermouths at times.

With a small sigh, Asuka began to talk about her vision. "I was in a meadow by the edge of a forest when I spotted a fox being chased by a pack of wolves. The fox kept on playing tricks until the last of the wolves was left unconscious just outside the meadow. I then watched as the fox came into the meadow carrying several rabbits in its mouth. He then led me towards the opening of a burrow. The next thing I can recall is being inside the burrow lying on a soft rug and feeling a warm sense of comfort."

Asuka's face quickly turned cherry red as she continued on with the vision. "That same fox quickly appeared again only this time he was on me. The, the fox then started licking me and then took me on the rug." She then quietly whispered, "I thought I was going to pass out from the pleasure" Asuka's voice then returned to her normal volume. "Soon afterwards I found myself nursing some kits while the fox lay next to me and occasionally passed me something to eat."

To Asuka's shock and surprise, Kawai suddenly picked her up and twilled her around in a circle shouting, "Oh my little Asuka, I'm so happy for you!"

The younger Tenjouin woman was blinking her eyes in shock as Kawai set her down. "Huh? What do you mean mother?" This wasn't the reaction Asuka had been expecting at all. Well, she honestly didn't know how she expected her mother to react, but this definitely wasn't it!

Kawai simply grinned and replied, "Silly girl, don't you realize just how favorably your ancestors look on your match? The fox in your vision obviously is a symbol for your betrothed given his circumstances." Asuka and her parents were the only people in Iwa besides from the Tuschikage who knew about the Kyubi. They had been informed given their connection to Naruto by the Tuschikage himself in private. "What you saw in the meadow was your forefathers showing that they believe Naruto can deal with threats before the reach home and he has the ability to provide for you. The burrow part of the vision obviously comes from our female ancestors. That part of the vision shows that you'll have a loving home, a good time in the sack, and that Naruto won't mind helping you with any future children you might have. All and all daughter dear, you've gotten yourself a glowing endorsement on Naruto and that's why I'm so happy for you."

What her mother said quickly made sense to Asuka. The vision was a ringing endorsement from her ancestors and what mother wouldn't want a good endorsement for her daughter's future husband? Asuka quickly bowed her head and said, "Thank you mother for helping me with understanding the vision." Kawai gave Asuka a brief kiss on the forehead in reply and then the two finished their bath.

* * *

Ryuji Tenjouin, head of the Tenjouin Clan and a leading candidate to be Oonoki's successor, serenely walked towards his clan's training grounds where Team Hiashi was practicing. Hiashi was having his genin do various calisthenics and cardio exercises. These were very good exercises for ninjas that were in neutral territory and had to worry about any secret techniques being stolen.

Hiashi motioned for his students to stop after he felt that they had showed off enough for their host. The Hyuga clan head then turned to face his counterpart and politely nodded his head in respect. Ryuji returned the gesture and then stated, "A very fit team you have here sir."

"Thank you sir, I like to think that they have advanced to an acceptable level for rookie genin. I had expected them to have reached a higher level given the training they've undergone, but their current level is tolerable." Both clan leaders grinned at Hiashi's words and the glares the genin were sending their teacher. What better way was there to motivate someone then to complement their efforts and then immediately take back the complement?

Ryuji then tilted decided to reveal why he had come to the training grounds. "Lord Hyuga, an escort has arrived to bring you to the Tsuchikage. I have been told that this is so he can give you the list of our participants in the upcoming exams."

Hiashi nodded his head. "Thank you for informing me of this Lord Tenjouin. Is there anything else that I need to be informed about or may I go see the Tsuchikage?"

The Tenjouin clan head paused for a second and then replied, "Yes there is. Would you mind if I talk to genin Namikaze in private while you are away?"

"That is acceptable to me."

Naruto quickly moved towards Ryuji as Hiashi started to walk towards the Tenjouin estate exit. Both Ino and Shino glanced at their teammate with curious looks in their eyes. Naruto simply grinned at them which cause the duo to resume their training. Ryuji then motioned for Naruto to follow him and the young Namikaze complied. The future father/son-in-law duo started walking towards the wall that lined the cliff edge surrounding the Tenjouin estate.

Once they were out of anyone else's earshot, Ryuji stopped walking and looked Naruto in the eye. "Ryo Marufugi has nominated his team for the exams and the Tsuchikage has accepted the nomination. I would consider it a personal favor if you would agree to house my children and the rest of their team while they are in Konoha."

Naruto quickly nodded his head and replied, "No problem. As far as I'm concerned, the entire Tenjouin Clan has a permanent invitation to say with me while visiting Konoha." Naruto then frowned and put his hand under his chin. "Ryuji, why did you pull me over like this? I mean, you could have simply asked about this invitation in front of my teammates."

Ryuji sighed and nodded his head to concede Naruto's point. "You are correct Naruto. I wanted to talk to you in private because there are things of a sensitive nature that I have to talk to you about. To be blunt, what will my daughter be in your house?"

"Huh? Why would you need to ask me that? She's to be my wife like you and your uncle agreed to with my father."

A frown appeared on Ryuji's face as he analyzed Naruto's reactions. Part of him wanted to take the honest boy at his word. However, the father within him refused to drop this interrogation until he was satisfied. This was his daughter's future happiness that he was checking on after all. In a hardened manner, Ryuji continued his investigation. "That agreement is a formality between nations; I desire what will happen between you and my daughter. Are you going honestly accept her as your wife or will she be your wife in name only? Is she going to be a part of your life or mealy a stranger staying in the same house? Will she be the mother of your children or will you leave her barren in favor of having children by concubines from your village?"

It was quite obvious from the shocked look on Naruto's face that he hadn't considered these possibilities. The young genin blurted out, "I thought that she'd be my wife like a regular married couple! You know be there for each other and maybe have a few kids one day when we're ready. Where are you getting all of these ideas from?"

Ryuji smiled and placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder. "You don't know how relieved I am to hear you say that Naruto. You weren't considering any of these situations and for that I am truly grateful. A father cannot help but worry about his daughter's happiness: especially in a situation like you and Asuka are in. I initially agreed to the betrothal because it was a way to help insure the peace for the Land of Earth. However, that did not mean that I was comfortable with this arrangement."

"I was the one who initially pushed for you and my daughter to become pen pals. This was done because I didn't want my daughter to marry a stranger and I wanted a way to check on what kind of man you were becoming. My preference for your team escorting our genin for the upcoming Chunin Exams was because I wanted to judge who you were in person. That and I wanted to give Asuka the chance to perform the Ceremony of Ancestral Acceptation which I have been told you passed. Still, I had to question you for myself about what kind of marriage Asuka would look forward to having."

Naruto nodded his head accepting Ryuji's words. Both Jiraiya and Hiashi had occasionally mentioned that one of the most important responsibilities of a good clan head was looking out for the other members of the clan. So, it was only natural that Asuka's father would be looking out for her. After thinking about everything, Naruto looked up a Ryuji. "What would you have done if I didn't meet your expectations?"

Ryuji's face became deadly serious and he spoke without remorse. "I would have killed you were you stand, Naruto. My one flaw, if you would call it that, as a ninja is that I care far more about my family than I do for this nation or this village. If such an action had been necessary I would no doubt be executed as well to appease the Land of Fire. However, choosing between the happiness of my daughter and my life is no choice at all. Luckily, you were the kind of man that you appeared to be and such speculation is rendered pointless."

* * *

It took Team Hiashi and the three teams they were escorting 10 days to reach Konoha. The sixteen ninjas caused a bit of a stir when they walked in the western gate. More precisely, Naruto and Asuka caused a stir when a fangirl spotted the two walking next to each other. Naruto spotted the girl in question and simply rolled his eyes. The girl in question might not be one of his fangirls, but she'd no doubt spread the news about Asuka to everyone within the hour.

The troop of ninjas started to split up once everyone was checked out at the gates. Both Iwa teams who didn't have an invitation to the Namikaze compound headed off to check out hotel rooms. Ryo quickly left to go to a briefing being given to all foreign Jonin about what was acceptable while in Konoha. Hiashi spoke up just after Ryo left. "I want my students to meet up at our usual training ground in three hours. I need to inform the Hokage about our mission's success and inform him that you three will be given the chance to enter the exams. You'll need to meet me as scheduled in order to receive the permission form to enter." With that said, Hiashi left his three stunned students in the road.

Fubuki grinned at the three Konoha genin. "Well, well, well, looks like we made the correct call to not show you three what we're capable off. After all, only an idiot shows an adversary what they can do before they fight."

Naruto came out of his stupor before his teammates and gave his future brother a pointed look. "Only a fool picks a fight when he doesn't half to."

Dachi, the last member of Team Ryo, folded his arms across his chest. "Are you proposing that we form an alliance during the exam Namikaze?"

Naruto nodded his head, "My godfather has repeatedly told me that part of the exams involves some type of simulated mission. A team of six ninjas would have a higher chance of success against an unknown mission than two separate teams of three ninjas each doing the same mission."

The three Iwa genin looked at each other silently considering Naruto's proposition. Asuka shrugged her shoulders and voiced her opinion. "It would give us more manpower to accomplish whatever task we're given."

Seeing an opening, Fabuki gave his sister a hug with one arm and replied in a teasing tone. "Now, now sissy-pooh, I fully understand that you want to hang out with your betrothed as much as possible. But, don't you think that this is taking it a little two far? I mean, why should we babysit the greenhorns just so you have some necking time with Naruto?"

Both Naruto and Asuka's cheeks turned a little pink at Fabuki's not so subtle teasing. The young Namikaze couldn't do anything other than take the teasing because as far as he could see any other action would only make the situation more embarrassing. Luckily for the duo, Asuka was able to find a more elegant solution to their predicament. She simply elbowed her brother in the stomach and muttered, "Get a hold of yourself Fubuki."

Shino then choose this moment to speak up. "Hiashi would not have nominated us to the exams if he wasn't convinced that we meet at least the minimum standards that potential chunin have. Logically, our teaming up would increase both teams' odds of success; especially when you consider that an Iwa-Konoha alliance would be unexpected."

Dachi nodded his head and turned towards his teammates. "The Aburame has a good point. Teaming up with them would be in our best interests. At least, it would be during the mock mission portion of the exam."

Fabuki nodded his head and walked towards Naruto. He then put his hand out. "So it's agreed that our teams will be allies until we have to face each other in the exam?"

Ino and Shino quickly glanced at Naruto and nodded their heads. With their acceptance, Naruto took Fabuki's offered hand. "Agreed, Team Hiashi and Team Ryo are now allies in the Chunin Exams."

* * *

Hiruzen Sarutobi was calmly sitting in his office enjoying a rare break when the door opened. The Hokage then watched as Itachi Uchiha walked into the room with a very concerned expression on his firm face. Itachi walked over to Hiruzen and politely nodded his head. "Sir, I've just gotten back from briefing the foreign Jonin and I must state that I have some concerns."

The old leader took a puff from his pipe and then set the pipe down. "What are your concerns Itachi? Surely the other Jonin know how to act when visiting another village under a flag of peace." While Hiruzen's outward appearance was calm, he was worried on the inside. Itachi was one of, if not the best Jonin currently serving Konoha. Any concerns he might have about the village's security deserved the utmost consideration.

Itachi put his hand on Hiruzen's desk and activated the strongest hidden security seal in the office that Jonin's were allowed to know about. "We have two foreign Jinchuuriki inside the village at this very moment. One is the Hachibi's container who is a Jonin instructor for one of Kumo's two teams in the exams. The other is the Ichibi's container who is a member of Suna's team. Were you aware of their presence within the village?"

Hiruzen nodded his head and replied, "I've been aware of both containers' identities since before the Kazekage and Raikage informed me who their participants in this period's Chunin Exams were. It was rather rude of Suna to not inform me that their Jinchuuriki would be arriving as per the Hirashirama Accord, but they might not have felt the need since they have never hidden who their container is. As long as they do not break any laws I see no reason to worry about their presence in the village any father then the standard caution given when a powerful foreign ninja is around."

The Uchiha clan leader nodded his head accepting Hiruzen's reasoning on the presence of the Jinchuuriki. However, there was something that didn't sit well with Itachi on this whole issue. "Why weren't we informed about their presence prior to the nomination of the genin? The nature of the test changes in intensity when a container is involved as is the case of the Ichibi."

A somber expression formed on Hirzuen's face as he answered Itachi. "Does it change Itachi? You know as a commander that you will often have to make tough decisions without having every scrap of information on a situation. Your soldiers in the field will discover information in the field that will change how the mission is to be carried out and they will have to adapt. Adaptability and dealing with the unknown are two essential elements of being a ninja. I withheld this information in order to give our hopeful chunin a chance to truly learn this lesson in a situation that we can control. Furthermore, they'll be learning these lessons in a situation that provides an extraction for them to proper medical facilities if things go sour."

Hiruzen then got out of his chair and walked over to where Itachi was standing. The old Hokage picked up his pipe and then simply stated, "Follow me." Hiruzen then walked out of his office with the pipe in his mouth and Itachi in tow. The young clan head wondered why his liege wanted him to follow, but he did it silently. Hiruzen led Itachi out of the Hokage tower and through the streets of Konoha. Itachi watched as Hiruzen would occasionally stop at a store and greet the owner or say hello to someone in the street.

It took the duo almost an hour to make their way through Konoha to the spot Hiruzen was leading them towards. To Itachi's surprise, Hiruzen had brought the duo to entrance of Rotten Brambles. Rotten Brambles was originally the location of Danzo's Ne headquarters and had been turned into a garbage dump after the traitor's execution. Hiruzen glanced over at his companion whose confusion for being here was obvious even with how well schooled Itachi's face was. "No doubt you are wondering why I have brought you to this place and why I did so by such an indirect route."

Itachi blinked his eyes once and then nodded his head. "Such thoughts were in my mind. I do not doubt for a moment that you had a reason for doing this. However, I cannot find the key to solve this puzzle. Might I ask what I have failed to notice?"

A small smile appeared on the old leader's face when he heard Itachi's question. "You don't know how much it pleases me Itachi that you recognize when something is outside your abilities and that you are willing to ask for aid. Far too many ninjas will not recognize their limits or, if they do recognize said limits, they will refuse to ask for assistance. The key you are looking for is this: what is the difference between the Konoha that exists and the Konoha that might have been which this place represents?"

The young clan leader closed his eyes and thought about what Hiruzen say very carefully. After coming up with several differences between Hiruzen and Danzo's idea of Konoha, he relooked again for the core difference. Something in how the Hokage had spoken hinted that this core difference was the true key and not the simple surface differences that anyone could point out. For several minutes Itachi continued to think and examine the statement from every angle.

Finally, Itachi opened his eyes and gave the Hokage his answer. "The difference between the two Konohas is their view of violence and its place in life. Our Konoha accepts that violence is an unfortunate part of life. In turn, our Konoha takes this reasoning and has crafted its shinobi as fighters against violence. We seek to find the path of least bloodshed in war and the path preserves peace when not at war. In essence, our Konoha is a shield that exists to allow other people to live peaceful lives."

"On the other hand, Danzo's Konoha embraces violence as a vital part of life. It would have taken this resonion and would have forged its shinobi to be agents of conflict. Such a Konoha would have reveled in the carnage of war and would have sought to restore conflict in times of peace. Such a Konoha would be an altar to the evils within the human heart."

Hiruzen nodded his head and sighed. "You understand Itachi. As ninjas, we have to tread in the shadows so that others may walk in the light. One could almost consider us to be protective shadows that are always with those who live peaceful lives. It was for just this reason that Hirashirama initially choose the title Shadow of Fire when this village was founded. It was the daimyo of that time that altered the title Hokage, but the essence of the title's meaning has stayed the same."

"However, as shadows we risk straying too far from the light and becoming lost within the darkness that we deal with. Danzo and I were once very much alike when we were your age Itachi. Unfortunately, Danzo started to slip into the darkness of violence when the Nidaime died. His inability to harmonize himself with his emotions lead to him losing the chance to become the Sandaime Hokage and in turn lead him to squashing his emotions. Such an act made it easy for Danzo to become a monster because emotions are our tether to the light. We must feel remorse of the lives we extinguish, regret when a subordinate dies or is injured by our orders, joy when comrades return home safely from a dangerous mission, and rage when a close friend is killed. To do otherwise is unnatural and makes us less then human."

Itachi nodded his head. "I understand sir." If anyone in the village understood what Hiruzen was trying to get across, it was Itachi. The young Jonin had experienced the full gambit of emotions that a ninja would experience and had gone through missions that would have torn lesser men to shreds. Actually, Itachi was pretty sure that he would have been an emotional wreck if it hadn't been for his wife. Ayame had helped him cope and overcome the pains in his life by being a caring heart, an understanding ear, and sometimes just by letting him forget the pain in a frenzy coupling. Itachi knew he had gotten a lucky break when he married her and he knew it was all because Naruto had once taken him there for lunch when he had been guarding the Namikaze heir.

The Hokage accepted Itachi's response and quietly pulled out a necklace with a small orange crystal. Hiruzen gently placed the necklace in his hand and then offered it to Itachi. "This is the Uzu Necklace. It is the companion necklace to the Hokage Necklace that is in Tsunade's possession. Both were made by the Uzumaki Clan when Mito Uzumaki married Hirashirama Senju. Lady Mito gave this necklace to Tobirama as a symbol that he was Hirashirama's second. Tobirama in turn passed this necklace on to me after he became Hokage. I've handed this necklace out twice before to men who I deemed worthy of being my second. The first was Sakumo Hatake who returned the necklace to me when he felt that disgrace made him unworthy of the position it signified. The second person I gave this necklace to was Minato Namikaze. I now offer this to you and the position it signifies. Do you accept Itachi Uchiha the responsibilities of being the Shadow Heir?"

Itachi looked like an Akimichi had hit him with their fist while they were using their Bakai Jutsu. He, become the Shadow Heir? The irony of the situation was far too bittersweet for Itachi. His great-grandfather Madara had become a traitor because he had been the position of Hokage and had not even been considered for the post of Shadow Heir. His father had planned a coupe because he had never received either position and had felt that a 'Senju flunky' would always deny 'the Uchihas' their rightful due'. It was known throughout the village that Hiruzen's old teammates disliked if not downright detested the Uchiha Clan. And yet, here he was being offered this position.

Hiruzen nervously watched Itachi as the young man considered his offer. The old Hokage silently prayed that Itachi would accept the position. Hiruzen knew that his time had passed and that while he could continue as the Hokage for a little longer, a Godaime would need to emerge soon. Itachi was the best person that Hiruzen could think of for the job. His own students had the power, but they were too trapped by the past and their personal flaws to guide Konoha in these changing times. A lot of the other Jonins didn't have both the power and the vision to be entrusted with the mantel. Sure, some of them could perform the job if necessary, but Hiruzen didn't want to have a mediocre successor.

The young Itachi had everything that Hiruzen was looking for in a successor. Itachi had experienced war, knew just how terrible such a tragic state was, and was determined to avoid another war if possible. He had the mind to grasp a complex situation and determine the best course of action that would achieve the mission goal without any more sacrifice than absolutely necessary. Trials and tribulations had tested the young man's resolve with him emerging stronger in the end where far too many would break. Finally, he had the power and ability to command respect from his fellow Konoha ninjas and fear from his enemies. Future enemies would be far more hesitant to fight Konoha if the Resolute Justice was the Hokage instead of the aging God of Shinobi.

Finally, Itachi reached out and took the necklace from Hirzuen's hand. The new Shadow Heir then put on the necklace. "I accept the position until you find someone better suited or the day I have to take your position, Sir."

* * *

Author's note: Jutus- Multi size Jutsu.


	7. Chapter 7

Daichi woke on the couch in the living room of Naruto's house. The Iwa genin rubbed his neck to work out the kinks in it. Had they been staying at the Namikaze compound, he could have had his own room to stay in. Unfortunately for Daichi, Team Marufugi was staying with Naruto in the house he had inherited from Kasumi. It was a very nice house, Daichi would give it that. However, it only had four bedrooms and he was left with options of either bunking with Fubuki or the couch. Neither option appealed to Daichi, but at least the couch was quiet and didn't unleash a gas attack after eating Fire Country cuisine.

The brains of Team Marufugi strolled over to the kitchen and grabbed a hot cup of tea. Daichi quickly drank his cup and smiled. Say what you will about these forest dwellers, but they sure knew how to make a tea that will wake you up in the morning. Now waking up, Daichi noticed that his host was working in the kitchen with a half dozen clones.

Naruto smiled at his guest and called out, "Breakfast should be ready in a few minutes. You can use the hall bathroom to freshen up. Fabuki's already been in and Ryo stated that he was going to sleep in a bit."

Daichi nodded his head and replied, "Okay. Uh, what about Asuka? I've been on missions with her before and I know that she can take forever to get ready." There was only one fault that all kunoichis, even the good ones, had as far as Daichi was concerned and that was that they in the end were girls. Not that there was anything particularly wrong with girls, but they took forever to get ready. At least with Asuka Team Marufugi didn't have to wait even longer for her to do her makeup like teams with fangirls did.

The Iwa genin's musings were interrupted when Naruto yelled out to one of his clones. "Hey baka, don't go so skimpy on the hot sauce. Fabuki likes spicy foods so make sure that his is extra hot!"

Naruto's clone quickly shot back, "No backseat cooking dumbass! Besides, what kind of moron calls himself an idiot?"

"Look in the mirror," Naruto muttered to himself before returning his attention to Daichi. "Sorry about that, Kage Bunshins tend to get a little reckless and careless when I set them to domestic tasks."

As one, the shadow clones shot back, "No we don't! You just hate doing chores!"

A sweat drop formed on the back of Daichi's head as he watched Naruto argue with his kage bunshins. There was nothing more pitiful than watching a person lose an argument with himself. That Naruto was having an argument was with half a dozen copies of himself only made the situation all the more embarrassing. Daichi was so engrossed in the floorshow that he missed his chance to take a shower and was brought out of his surprise by his teammates coming down for breakfast.

Breakfast was an enjoyable meal for the five people. Naruto's clones had prepared something relatively light, but still very energy packed and delicious. It was the type of meal that all ninjas were used to having before going on duty. The five ninjas were sitting at the breakfast table with Naruto at the head, Asuka to his right, Ryo to his left, Fabuki next to Asuka, and Daichi next to Ryo.

Fabuki spoke up towards the end of breakfast. "So Naruto, I know we discussed a couple of strategies with your team yesterday. Is there any particular plan that you like the best?"

Naruto closed his eyes and sighed. He then opened them and glanced to Asuka. "Personally I don't like this plan, but I must admit that 'Trouble in Paradise' is our best option. It will allow us to hide our cooperation better than any other plan until it is too late for our opponents."

The eldest Tenjounin sibling nodded his head with a serious look on his face. Fabuki's usual joker persona had frozen to allow the team leader that he was to emerge into plain view. "Alright, let's go over everyone's part just to make sure we all remember how we're supposed to act. Naruto, as far as everyone in the exam is concerned you've recently found out about the betrothal and you're annoyed because you had to your eye on a girl from Konoha for some time. The only reason no one knows who this girl is because you wanted to prove that you were more than just your father's son before asking her out. Your teammate Shino doesn't need to act outside of his usual self. However, Ino is to play the part of the jealous stalker who was trying to worm her way into your heart. She'll need to act extremely hostile to Asuka; not cold shoulder hostile, but itching for a catfight hostile. Make sure that your teammates know their roles when they get to the Academy."

After Naruto nodded his head, Fabuki continued on stating what roles Team Marufugi needed to play. "Asuka is to assume an ice bitch persona. As far as her role is concerned, Naruto is nothing more than an annoyance that she'll half to put up with. My role is that of the honor obsessive big brother. I will be constantly harping on you two for needing to stay together and 'fulfill the duties of the treaty'. With my part, the fact that your parts hate their current situation is immaterial. Daichi, your role is to play the bitter comrade. While not in love with Asuka's character, your persona will be furious that the 'butcher's son' has carried off a scion of a noble Iwa clan as a war trophy. Does everyone understand their roles?"

* * *

Team Hiashi met up at their usual training ground and then headed towards the Academy. Along the way, Naruto briefed his teammates on their roles in 'Trouble in Paradise'. Naruto paused when the trio got to the Academy and he muttered to himself, "Okay. Let's get this show on the road."

Hiashi's students calmly made their way to the third floor ignoring the faint genjutsu on the entrance to the second floor. Whoever got caught by that lame genjutsu should be sent back to the Academy to learn how to be a ninja. It didn't even make you feel like you had gone up a second flight of stairs! The trio walked onto the third floor with Naruto a step ahead of his teammates. Ino was positioned to Naruto's right and Shino was walking by Naruto's left.

To the team's surprise, their sensei was standing in front of the exam room calmly waiting for them. Hiashi glanced at his students and nodded his head. "It's good that all three of you are here as otherwise none of you could proceed with the test. I expect each and every one of you to bring honor to Konoha and your clans today with your progress in these tests." With that said Hiashi let his team pass and left for the teachers' lounge that had been reserved for the Jonin teachers.

The trio entered the waiting room and quickly noticed that they were one of the early arrivals. They then watched as a new team would arrive every couple of minutes. Suddenly, a host of teams started pouring through the door muttering about a genjutsu. Ino looked at the arriving ninjas and shook her head. "I guess someone must have blabbed about the illusion cast on the second floor."

Both Shino and Naruto nodded their heads. Shino then stated, "It is likely that someone cancelled the illusion in order to showcase their abilities. Whoever did so is probably a green genin who is insecure about his or her abilities and was trying to enhance their self-image by making these ninjas look like fools. Such a ninja is most probably a minimal threat to us. Likewise, the ninjas in this current batch are likely to be less ready to become Chunin than we were anticipating for our competition."

As if to prove Shino's point, Team Hiashi heard Shikamaru grumbling. "Why do you always have to be so troublesome Sasuke? Things would have been so much simpiler for us if you hadn't made the announcement about the genjutsu. Now we have more competitors to deal with."

Kiba added his own two cents before Sasuke could respond. "Oh shut up you lazy bum. So the jerk got us more competitors to trounce, I don't see what your problem is with this situation."

Naruto quickly glanced at his teammates and whispered to them. "I think it would be a good idea for us to move to another location. We wouldn't want Kiba's mouth to bring undue attention on us now would we?"

Unfortunately for Team Hiashi, Kiba had already spotted them. The rambunctious Inuzuka quickly led his comrades over and called out, "Hey Naruto. How's it hanging man? Can you believe that we're in the Chunin Exams?"

Ino glanced at Naruto and motioned with her head towards Kiba. "You were friends with this fleabag back in the Academy?" She then turned to Sasuke and Shikamaru. "How do you put up with this smelly loudmouth? It must be terrible when you try to hide and have him giving away your location from a click away."

Suddenly a new voice cut into the conversation. "Shikamaru was talking to me the other day. He said that Kiba's been scheduled to have the problem fixed as soon as their sensei finds the time." The six rookies turned their heads to look at Choji who was being followed by his teammates Sakura and Hinata.

Kiba gave Choji a dark glare and muttered, "That was cold man."

The nine former classmates quickly started catching up with each other. While a few had hung out with each other, the nine hadn't been in one place together since their team assignments back in the academy. Naruto used the greetings to discreetly signal to Team Marufugi that it was time for the show to begin. He then began to glare at his fiancée's team and falling into part. Hinata noticed the unusual anger in her crush's face and meekly spoke up. "Um Naruto, is everything alright?"

Naruto glanced at Hinata and gave her a weak smile. "Things are tolerable. Lets leave it at that shall we?"

The Hyuga heiress didn't have time to respond because a new voice cut into the nine's conversations. "Would you rookies please settle down? You're drawing too much attention to yourselves. As a fellow Leaf Ninja, let me assure you that attention is never a good thing."

Everyone turned to look at the older Konoha ninja who had silver hair, round glasses, and was walking towards them. Sasuke gave the older ninja a distained look and said, "Just who are you to be telling us what to do?"

The older genin smiled and smoothly replied, "My name is Kabuto Yakushi and I have participated in these exams several times."

Shikamaru looked at Kabuto and asked, "Exactly how many times is several times?"

A slightly sheepish look came over Kabuto's face as he answered Shiamaru's question. "This is actually my seventh time in the exams. You see, these exams test both your own skill and the skill of your teammates as you work with them to pass all of the exams. I failed my first three times because I focused too much on my medical studies and thus couldn't meet all of the requirements of the exam. My failures the last three times were because one of my teammates wasn't ready for the exam. Alas, that happens when you get moved onto new teams because your colleagues are more gifted then you."

Naruto then decided to speak up. "So Kabuto, what do you think your chances of passing this year are?"

Kabuto smiled at Naruto and promptly replied to the friendly question, "Pretty good actually. Both of my teammates have the skills needed to pass and we work together very well. Baring rotten luck, we all should finally get those Chunin jackets. Besides," Kabuto paused for a second to pull out a pack of cards, "This time around I've got these. They're info cards that I've created from gathering as much data as I could on my competition. With these I'll know vital information on my opponents and be able to plan a strategy to defeat them."

The older genin smiled and then replied, "Tell you what. I'm in a good mood this time around so I'll let each of you pick one ninja here and I'll share what I've gathered on the person. Consider it a little extra leverage between comrades. After all, we wouldn't want these foreign ninjas to show us up in our own village now would we?"

Hinata quickly spoke up, "Would you mind telling us what your card says on Naruto?" The Hyuga heiress quickly noticed that several of her former classmates were throwing her some odd looks. She then quickly and politely defended her actions. "I wanted to see how well Yakushi's information was."

Kabuto shrugged his shoulders and quickly replied, "That's perfectly understandable ma'am. Now, where did I? Ah, here's Naruto's card. Let's take a look shall we:

Name: Naruto Namikaze

Age: 14

Parents: Minato Namikaze (Yondaime Hokage, deceased) and Kushina Namikaze (formerly of Uzu, deceased)

Allegiance: Konoha

Teammates: Shino Aburame and Ino Yamanaka with Hiashi Hyuga

Mission History: 2 C rank missions and 20 D rank missions

Abilities: competent in all ninja skills with a specialty for bojutsu, ninjutsu, and fuuinjutsu.

Note: betrothed to Asuka Tenjounin of Iwa since birth."

Teams Inoichi and Itachi let out a shocked cry of surprise when they heard the note on Kabuto's info card. Kiba started scratching his head and then blurted out, "Okay Kabuto's info cards suck. I mean come on! There is no chance at all that Naruto really is engaged."

Fall into character, Naruto sent Kiba and Kabuto a dangerous glare. "Thank you two so much for reminding me. I was trying to forget about that little arrangement during the exam."

Sakura blinked her eyes and then asked, "So what Kabuto told us was true? How did that happen? I mean, how could you have been engaged since birth when your parents died when you were born?"

Naruto sighed and then answered his comrade. "It was part of the treaty to end the last war. Because of some backroom dealing, I've ended up with her," at this Naruto pointed to where Asuka was standing, "as my future wife. If my father was still alive I'd beat him black and blue for doing this to me." Everyone turned to look at Asuka and her comrades.

Kiba gave Asuka a quick glance over and then let out a wolf whistle. "Damn Naruto, you are one lucky sonofabitch. I wish that my old man had arranged for me to get such a hottie before he kicked the bucket."

The girls in the group didn't get the chance to pulverize Kiba for his crass behavior as Asuka moved forward with her part of the drama. She calmly walked over to the ten Konoha genin and discreetly cast a minor genjutsu to enhance her 'icy' persona. Asuka gave the Inuzuka a distained look and then turned her attention to Naruto. "Must you associate yourself with such insignificant insects? Even a rodent like yourself can do better then these vermin."

Naruto equaled his betrothed acting skills as she shot back, "Don't refer to my friends as vermin! Besides, why the hell does it matter who I hang out with?"

Asuka fortified herself for the next round of barbs she needed to unleash for the play. She scoffed at Naruto's reply and shrugged her shoulders. "It matters because my uncle was a fool to think that you had something that was worth being tied to my illustrious clan. The shame of having to be associated with you is barely bearable, but associating with trash like this would make this situation intolerable. If you really must continue to associate with these weaklings; then do me a favor and get yourself killed in this exam so that I will no longer have to put up with this inconvenience."

Fabuki's character then step foot on the stage by placing a hand firmly on Asuka's shoulder. In a firm voice he commanded, "That is enough sister! You are never to speak that way about your betroth again. Our uncle made this arraignment on behalf of our clan and you will honor it. The reputation of our clan demands no less than that." With that, the Tenjounin siblings returned to stand by Daichi feeling that they had accomplished the goal of 'Trouble in Paradise'.

Kiba gave Naruto a mournful look and shook his head. "Naruto, I take back everything I just said. What the hell did you do in your past life to merit being shackled to such a bitch?" The young Namikaze wasn't able to answer the Inuzuka because a chunin came into the room and announced that the exams were about to begin.

* * *

Ibiki Morino had to fight the urge to shake his head in frustration and annoyance. Could these chunin wannabes possibly be any more obvious in their cheating? For example, did that girl on Guy's team really think that they hadn't noticed her putting the mirror up on the roof? Another prime example of these genins lack of stealth was the Hyugas. Did those two really think that no one had noticed that they had activated their Kekkei Genkai? Guy's pupil was on her last chance and the Hyugas had lost three of their five opportunities to gather information.

Personally Ibiki wanted to fail the entire lot for being caught once. After all, if you're caught on an actual mission then you and your team are dead. However, the Chunin Exam Board had ruled that the information gathering test would be passable if the ninja in question displayed 'acceptable levels of competency'. Their definition of competency was showing abilities that could be successfully used in the field with minimal amount of detection by an unaware enemy. The fact that most of said abilities were entirely inappropriate for this kind of information gathering was ignored by the Board. Thus, Ibiki and his fellow examiners had to turn a blind eye towards most ninja actions. They could only boot someone out if they messed up or were simply too sloppy.

Konoha's top interrogator knew how everyone in the exam was gathering their information except for six people. Team Marufugi hadn't attempted to use any of Iwa's normal information gathering methods. Ibiki knew that because they didn't have anything on their papers. The other three people he was puzzled about were on Team Hiashi. No bugs were flying around to single that the Aburame was gathering info and the Yamanaka was positioned in the front row unable to use her clan jutsus.

What was going through the minds of those six? For a moment, Ibiki considered the possibility that they had figured out the hidden loophole in the rules and were just going to pass on raw courage. However, that was a remote possibility as such a move would require them to know about the final part of the test.

Why was he worried about what the brats were doing in the first place? After all, it was no skin off his nose if they passed or not. Ibiki felt a headache building as he continued to think of the situation with the six. He could feel in his gut that something was off about the two teams. Why was it that the two teams had a rather heated confrontation in the lobby and now they were acting so much alike? Was it merely coincidence? Ibiki held off a scoff. If it was coincidence then he was the Shodai of the Village Hidden in Absurdity.

Suddenly a glint of light caught Ibiki's eyes and directed their attention to Daichi's left arm. The Iwa ninja had the arm lazily hanging by his side with two small wires coming out of his sleeve. Ibiki quickly traced the paths of the two wires now that he knew that they existed. One wire went to Daichi's right where it stopped at Ino's feet and then went strait back towards Fubuki. The other wire headed behind Daichi to Naruto and then went to the Namikaze's right to link up with Fubuki. The two wires then headed to Fubuki's right where they came to Shino. From Shino, the wires went down the row to Asuka. Small pulses of chakra were constantly traveling through the wire.

'Why, those clever little bastards' Ibiki stated to himself in his head. The six were using the wire messaging technique! It was a technique that allowed forces to communicate through chakra pulses sent through a wire. Most ninjas didn't use the jutsu because it required fine chakra control, was tricky to set the wire up, the wire could be cut at any point, and anyone who touched the wire could listen in on the conversation.

Ibiki didn't take any points off of the six even though he had caught them obviously coordinating a plan to get information by some as yet unrevealed method. It was clear to him now that the six had been staging the earlier confrontation in order to throw off anyone's suspicion of them working together. The fact that they had somehow passed the wire around, probably with a variation of the Kugutsu Jutsu, without anyone noticing showed a greater deal of skill than the average chunin. Hell, the only reason that they had been discovered was the fact that he was a paranoid bastard who knew that they had to be cheating somehow.

The interrogator turn exam giver didn't have to wait long to find out what the six were planning. A series of smoke bombs suddenly went off covering the entire classroom in smoke. Screams of surprise and indignation filled the rooms as the genins and chunins tried to react to this unexpected attack. Ibiki crouched down behind his desk and carefully scanned the classroom. The thick smoke made it hard to see, but he could make out the forms of people standing next to the desks of the wannabes.

It quickly became obvious to Ibiki that the figures were clones of some type since they all looked like him. His lookalikes were all busy trying to steal everyone's tests and the students were busy trying to protect their papers. A few of the chunin observers were about to intercept the clones, but Ibiki signaled them to move back. This was an unexpected situation and he wanted to see how the genin would react. Most of the examinees were able to protect their papers while a couple had their papers stolen.

Eventually, all of the clones were destroyed and Ibiki decided it was time to bring back the fear of the kami into these brats. "If I EVER find who pulled this catastrophe I'll use them as the new T&I practice dummy!" To emphasis this, Ibiki pored all of his killing intent into his sentence causing several genin to wet themselves in fear. He then glanced at the chunin examiners and called out, "Everyone who lost their papers or couldn't hold their bladders is removed from the exam. We don't need ninjas who cannot protect vital documents or remember when to go to the bathroom."

Ibiki used the removal of the incompetent as a chance to glance at Teams Hiashi and Marufugi. Each of the six ninjas had a complete test with their names on it lying on their desks. Ibiki couldn't help himself and he cracked a small grin as he looked at the six. They had used the commotion of the smoke bombs and clone attack to swap their tests for ones that had the complete answers. What a brilliantly coordinated effort at information gathering! The best part of it was that had pulled off the illusion that their attempt to collect the papers had failed when the clones were destroyed and no one could prove that they did anything.

* * *

Team Hiashi walked a few feet away from the entrance to Training ground 44 and looked around. After checking to make sure that the coast was clear Naruto spoke up. "Alright, let's go get our partners." Naruto then pulled out a scroll from his pocket and unrolled it on the ground. His teammates didn't look at the seals written on the inside of the scroll because they knew it was way over their heads. The young Namikaze placed his hand on a hand outline on the scroll and called out, "Ally Summoning Technique: Activate."

Three columns of smoke popped out of the scroll and then Team Marufugi appeared standing on the scroll. Fubuki scratched the back of his neck and then muttered, "Man that was weird. I vote that the next time we have to work together that you're the ones summoned."

Naruto just shook his head. "Technically, I didn't summon you three. The seal array on the scroll summoned the tags that I gave you before we left my house. You three simply piggybacked with the tags as they were summoned. But enough of basic Fuuninjutsu principals, we've got five days to get two more scrolls and make it two the tower at the center of the training ground."

Daichi, who was holding his team's scroll, glanced about at Team Hiashi. He then stated as he stepped off the summoning scroll, "We've got Heaven."

Ino nodded her head and replied, "Same here. It looks like we'll need two Earth scrolls."

Asuka was the last member of her team to step off the scroll and allow Naruto to roll it back up. She then glanced at Shino and stated, "Am I correct in assuming that you'll be directing us to our first enemy team?"

Shino nodded his head. "I was able to plant a kikai on all the other teams while Ms. Mitarashi was explaining this test. The nearest target is approximately 100 meters to our right."

Naruto merely grinned and spoke up. "Well, what are we waiting for? We outnumber them 2 to 1 and we know where they are. All we have to do is ambush them and move on to the next opponent before we head to the tower."

The six ninjas quickly followed Shino until they ran into a team from Taki. Both teams were currently hiding in the tree branches silently watching the Taki ninjas bumble about through the forest. A strong but thin wire connected all six so that they could use the wire messaging technique.

Naruto sent out, "Okay here's our target. What's our plan of attack and it better not be a frontal assault. We need to save our strength in case our next enemy is better then these three."

Fubuki quickly responded, "That's obvious bro to be. Of course, I doubt that any team could possibly be worse than these three in the field."

Asuka entered the conversation. "I suggest that I put a genjutsu on them to think that they're under attack. That could direct them to a spot where we can then ambush them."

Daichi got on the line. "I'll take care of the ambush part. Close quarters is my specialty after all."

Naruto nodded his head as he 'listened' to the conversation. "Good, that's a very good plan. However, I suggest that we modify it slightly with Ino in a sniper position to take out anyone that Daichi can't easily get to. What poisons to you have on hand Ino?"

"I've got paralysis poisons and some neurotoxins Naruto. Which do you think I should use?"

The young Namikaze closed his eyes and thought for a second. He then sighed and gave his answer. "Better make it the neurotoxin Ino. We can't use short paralysis or they might attack us and longer paralysis poisons would leave them defenseless to the predators roaming this forest. A quick and painless death is the most merciful option we've under these circumstances."

With the plan decided on, the six quickly went to work. Daichi quickly moved to hide in a bush near the Taki ninjas. Ino took to a tree branch several meters in front of Daichi and coated her senbon needles in the fastest acting poison in her kit. Asuka maneuvered herself into a position to better cast the genjutsu. Finally, the three remaining shinobi took supporting positions in the tree canopy so that they could jump in if things went sour.

Asuka quickly cast her genjustu and everyone watched as the Taki ninjas reacted to an unseen assault. The Tenjounin heiress quickly corralled her enemies and directed towards the bush Daichi was hiding in. Daichi waited until his enemies were close enough and then he struck. His hands shot out to the bush towards the two closet ninjas slamming into their backs. This activated the two hidden blades on his wrists quickly came out of concealment and embedded themselves into his opponents. Both blades cut strait through the ninjas spines and pierced their hearts killing both in an instant. The Taki ninja farthest from Daichi spotted the attack and tried to run away. Unfortunately for him, Ino quickly threw a senbon that pierced his jugular vein allowing the neurotoxin to enter his system.

Naruto, Shino, and Fubuki quickly dropped out of the canopy and approached the deceased ninjas. They then quickly rummaged through the bodies until Shino found the scroll that they were carrying. He gave it a quick glance and simply stated, "It's an Earth scroll."

Naruto nodded his head and pulled out a blank scroll. He then opened it and rapidly started inscribing it with seals. "Okay Shino, just give me a moment and then we can move on to our next target." Naruto then set the scroll down and placed the Taki ninja's bodies on it before calling out, "Seal!" There were several puffs of smoke as the three bodies were sealed into the scroll.

Asuka gave her bethrothed a questioning glance and then asked, "Uh Naruto? Why did you seal those bodies in that scroll?"

Naruto simply shrugged his shoulders and replied, "So that they could be returned to their families after the exams are over. I figure that it will be hard enough on their families to have the three die in these exams. There's no need to make it any harder by leaving their bodies for the predators when it's no trouble to bring them along like this."

A faint blush appeared on Asuka's face as the six headed out. It was touching that even in an exam like this Naruto was concerned for his enemies. Most ninjas, herself included, wouldn't have bothered themselves with what could happen to an enemy team or what their families would feel.

* * *

New Jutsus: Puppetry technique


	8. Chapter 8

Hiruzen was sitting in his observer's seat as a Jonin brought the surviving genin teams into the tower's area. It was quite impressive to the old Hokage that eight teams had managed to pass the second exam. Obviously, this year's batch of contestants was of exceptional quality. Five of the teams, Team Hiashi, Team Itachi, Team Inoichi, Team Guy, and Team Honda, were from Konoha while Team Bee was from Kumo, Team Baki was from Suna, and Team Marufugi was from Iwa. It was, to say the least, a very interesting match up of teams. Three of Konoha's teams were rookie teams only six months out of the academy. Kumo's team had been trained by one of the most powerful and feared ninjas currently alive and associated with a village. Both Iwa and Suna's teams were comprised of members of their respected village's most powerful clans. All and all, the third exams would definitely be interesting to watch.

It was such a shame that all 24 genins couldn't fight before the daimyos in the Chunin Exam Finals. Unfortunately, the rules stated that the final tournament could only have a max of 16 participants. The daimyos simply stopped having fun betting on the matches when the tournament was larger. Thus, a preliminary round was necessary to cut the genin in half. This in and of itself wasn't too bad in Hiruzen's mind as it insured that anyone who had been 'coasting' on their teammates wouldn't embarrass themselves in front of the customers.

The Hokage let his mind wander a bit as the referee for the preliminary explained the situation for the competing genin. Hiruzen glanced over at his Jonins who were standing opposite of him watching their students. Baki was standing on the ledge to Hiruzen's left while Bee and Marufugi were standing on the balcony to his right. It was a little strange that Suna's Jonin was standing away from the usual 'foreigners' balcony. However, it didn't really matter since the man was in charge of the 'only' container in the tournament and probably felt that it would be good to keep Garra away from the other competitors.

Down in the area, Genma Shiranui looked around at the genin as he chewed on his senbon needle. "Now then, I'll say it one more time just to make sure you all know exactly what you're getting into. If you do not back out now, you are agreeing to fight in the preliminaries. This means that either you or your opponent will be killed or knocked out. I will only call the match if it is crystal clear that one competitor has won. This means that the other competitor will be in such a condition that it is unlikely he or she will ever be able to continue their shinobi career. Is that understood?" Genma had mentioned in his pervious explanation that forfeiture was an option. He just hadn't brought it up this time because he was trying to thin the crowd by intimidation.

Seeing no one backing down, Genma sighed and stated, "Please turn your attention to the screen where our first competitors will be randomly selected." The screen quickly cycled through the competitors until the names Omoi of Kumo and Fubuki Tenjounin appeared on the screen. Genma nodded his head. "All other competitors will now leave the arena. You may watch from the balconies above."

Fubuki gave Omoi a playful grin and called out, "A sword user eh? Wish I had remembered to bring mine with me to the exams." The Tenjounin glanced up at the stands where Naruto was standing. He then shouted out, "Hey Bro-to-be! Did you by any chance happen to pack my sword in one of those seals of yours?"

Naruto ignored the strange looks that all the genin who didn't know about the little deception were sending him. "I had more important things to do Fubuki and so do you at the moment!"

The Tenjounin heir shrugged his shoulders and loudly muttered, "I guess checking out my sister's ass would be an important thing for you to do Naruto. But anyway, I've an opponent to crush. So before the Konoha ninja starts the match, Ninja Art: Metal Golem Technique- Sword!" Fubiki did a series of one handed hand seals and slammed his right hand into the ground. The Iwa genin then pulled his hand up drawing a sword up from the ground. Fubiki gave his newly created sword a few test swings and smiled, "I figured it was only sporty of me to meet you swordsman to swordsman. Now if you have no objections Omoi, I think that Genma over there should start our match."

Up in the stands, Itachi raised an eyebrow and clearly stated, "Very impressive." The Konoha genins turned to look at Itachi with their eyes practically begging an explanation. With no reason not to, Itachi began to explain things to the attentive genin. "That was the Golem Technique; the signature jutsu of the Tenjounin clan. With that jutsu, the tenjounins are able to create constructs out of the earth that can fight for them. These constructs are capable of independent thought much like Kage Bunshin, but have incredible endurance and are subordinate to their creator. This jutsu has three known levels determined by the materials used to create the constructs: clay, stone, and metal. That the young Tenjounin down there could create a metal sword with the Golem Technique at his age means that he is a prodigy as most adult Tenjounins can't do that feat."

The genin returned their gaze to the arena below. Omoi currently had his sword drawn and had actually electrified it with his chakra. It actually looked like the young Kumo ninja wielding the legendary Raijin with how his sword crackled with lighting. Fubuki was panting a bit and held his golem sword so that its tip touched the ground. This allowed the sword to draw materials from the ground and repair itself.

Omoi frowned as he analyzed his opponent and mumbled to himself. "So that's why his sword hasn't been destroyed. He keeps repairing it. If this keeps up then I'll have to end my jutsu or I'll faint form chakra exhaustion. On the other hand, that jutsu of his seems to be at least as draining on him as well. If I attack and wear him out, then I'll win. However, if he wears me out than he'll win."

Suddenly Kauri, Omoi's sister and teammate, screamed out, "Will you quit overanalyzing and fight bro!"

The Kumo ninja nodded his head and his eyes filled up with resolve. Without any hesitation he called out, "I'll end this all in one blow, Lightning Style: Thousand Storm birds Sword!" Omoi's sword suddenly flared up as lighting started to crackle all around the electrified sword instantly incinerating the stone floor of the area near the blade.

All of the Konoha Jonins up in the stands frowned in worry when they saw Omoi's jutsu. Its apparent similarities to Kakashi's Raikiri jutsu were simply too close for their comfort. Fabuki was also nervous at the sight of Omoi's jutsu, but he knew that he had to deal with it now. The Tenjounin heir slammed his fists on the ground and called out, "Ninja Art: Stone Golem Technique- Protective Buddha!" The stadium started to shake as a giant statue of Buddha sitting in a meditative pose rose from the ground and didn't stop growing until its head towered over the ninjas observing the fight.

Omoi's only answer to Fabuki's challenge was to increase the chakra he was channeling into his sword and charge the statue. The Buddha's eyes gave off a blue glow and then it sent its raised hand out to grab the Kumo ninja. Omoi thrust at the golem destroying its hand with his sword. He continued to plow through Buddha as he cut through the golem's arm and then created a tunnel through its shoulder. As soon as Omoi emerged from the statue he leapt into the air and called out, "It's over Tenjounin!"

Fabuki suddenly yelled out at the top of his lungs. "I Forfeit!" Omoi landed next to his opponent, cancelled his jutsu, and gave Fabuki a serious glare. Fabuki shrugged and said, "This match goes to you; I simply don't have the chakra to continue. That defensive jutsu of mine got everything I had and it wasn't enough. Look, my sword is already breaking apart." True to his word, the sword in his hand was dissolving like a bad CGI seen in a horror movie.

Genma raised his hand and called out, "Omoi of Kumo is the winner. Both contestants will now leave the arena so that repairs can be made to the arena. The next match will be held as soon as repairs are completed."

* * *

Asuka ran up to Fabuki as soon as he reached the observation deck and grabbed him by the collar. "What the hell was with that show boating of yours brother? You know that Metal Golems eat through your chakra faster then the time it takes for Crowler to start complaining about Red Squad back at the Shinobi Institute! Don't start talking about forgetting your sword; I know for a fact that you brought your sword with you to Konoha and you never forget to pack it with you when you're on a mission. So, why by our ancestors did you deliberately not bring a vital tool with you on these exams?"

Fabuki smiled and cheerfully replied, "Lighten up Sissy-pooh." A quick death glare from Asuka made the elder sibling take a more serious tone. "I was merely trying to unnerve my opponent by using the metal golem jutsu instead of a real sword. I may not have the reserves of lover boy over there, but I do have more chakra then most people our age. Besides, a regular sword would have been destroyed by my opponent's jutsu."

Asuka sighed and nodded her head. "Okay brother, I see your point. Just don't ever do that again do you hear me?"

The elder sibling nodded his head to show he understood and the younger tenjounin started to walk to the railing. Shortly thereafter, Fabuki put his hands around his mouth and shouted out, "Hey Naruto! I think you should invest in some pain tolerance training. Sissy-pooh seems to be showing signs of favoring S&M!" This comment immediately earned Fabuki a swift kick in between the legs courtesy of his sister. In a raspy voice Fabuki gasped out, "I thought you wanted to be an aunt sis." He then fell to the floor clutching his family jewels.

Over on the home balcony, Kiba was rapidly making the time out sign. "Alright, stop the presses. Will someone please explain to me just what the hell is going on?"

Shino glanced over at the young Inuzuka and simply asked, "And just what needs to be explained?"

Kiba quickly yelled out, "Enough with the strait guy act Shino! Less then a week ago Naruto's fiancée was a subzero ice demon in her personality and now she's acting like a concerned sibling when she's not beating up her brother? And just what is up with her brother? I distinctly remember him being a very honor bound boring as a board guy. Now, I'm seeing a class clown that makes me look like a model student. I don't need my nose to tell me that this whole situation stinks." Many of Team Hiashi's former classmates nodded their heads in agreement.

Naruto shrugged his shoulders and decided to answer Kiba. "It was all a script. Both of our teams agreed to work together as soon as Hiashi nominated us for the exams. We simply acted like you saw before the first exam to throw off anyone who might have considered the possibility of us forming an alliance."

Hinata then spoke up, "And the marriage arraignment?"

The Namikaze heir gave everyone a fox like grin before he answered Hinata's question. "I've known about it since I was six. Asuka and I were pen pails for years so that we could get to know each other. Hell, I snuck several dozen of her letters into the Academy to read during recess." Naruto turned to Kiba and gave him a pointed look, "You really dropped the ball on that one Kiba. I was practically handing you blackmail material throughout our time at the Academy and you were never in aware that it was out there."

As the other Konoha rookies continued to talk about Naruto and Asuka, Hinata had to force herself not to break out in tears. It just wasn't fair! Why did the one man she love, the man who even her father approved of as a person and ninja, have to be taken from her before she even met him? One would almost think that the fate her cousin ranted about was deliberately mocking her.

Most of the rookies didn't notice the state that Hinata was in. However, Sakura did notice and it burned her that her teammate was in such a condition. Sakura glanced over at Naruto and felt the growing urge to smack that jerk down. Didn't the moron see what he was doing to Hinata? She thought that Naruto was one of the good heirs; the kind of kid who didn't have an overgrown head simply because of who his parents were. After all, he was always helping people out back at the Academy and had a ton of fans. Did the jerk get off on stringing along the hopes of her classmates?

A few seconds later the stadium grew quiet as Genma's voice rang out over the intercom system. "Attention! The arena has been repaired and the next contestants will be selected." Everyone turned to look at the video screen as names started flashing on the screen until the video stopped on the next contestants' names. Genma gave the screen a quick glance and called out, "Naruto Namikaze and Sakura Haruno, report to the arena."

Naruto gave his teammates a quick nod and then headed for one of stairs. Sakura cracked her knuckles thanking luck that she got a chance to put Naruto in his place for what he did. She was about head down the other set of stairs when Itachi called out. "Sakura, keep your focus on the match."

Sakura nodded her head and replied, "Yes sensei." She then quickly went down the stairs and joined Naruto on the arena. Both genin squared off against each other, Naruto with his bo staff in hand and Sakura with her spiked brass knuckles. Genma gave the two a quick glance and called out, "Let the match begin!"

The match started off when Sakura leaping into the air, creating six bunshins, and the seven Sakura's throwing a half dozen shuriken each at Naruto. On reflex, Naruto started spinning his staff and blocking the shuriken. This only stopped him for a few seconds, but that was all that Sakura needed. She quickly landed on the ground and rushed at him with her fist drawn back. Naruto swung his staff intent on using it to break Sakura's momentum. However, the young kunoichi let her drawn fist fly and punched the staff. A cracking sound filled the arena as Sakura's fist broke the staff in two. Naruto was too shocked at the loss of Hiruzen's gift that he didn't avoid Sakura's follow up kick to the gut.

As Naruto was set flying towards a stone wall, Hiashi turned to glance at Itachi. "Just what are you teaching that girl?"

Itachi shrugged and simply replied, "The basics."

Hiashi sent Itachi a nasty glare and retorted, "Since when do the basics involve teaching a rookie genin how to punch through a harden iron wood staff from Ape summons forest?" The rest of the Konoha jonins had sweat drops on the backs of their heads when they heard that piece of information. Not that this was surprising considering that iron wood from the trees of the Ape summons home was slightly stronger than regular steel.

Back in the arena, Naruto was picking himself up from the rubble of his crash into the wall. Naruto straitened out the kinks in his neck and muttered to himself, "Yeesh that felt like those punches Jiraiya mentioned his teammate Tsunade dishing out in his stories." Naruto crossed his arms together and summoned four dozen Kage bunshins. The cloned Narutos immediately charged at Sakura while the original Naruto pulled out a blank scroll.

Naruto, the real one that is, used the breathing space to think of an appropriate seal to use. He needed to incapacitate, not kill, Sakura since she'd be an ally again after this fight. An idea for a seal came to Naruto and he hurriedly started creating it. His calligraphy was slower than usual because he was making a heavily modified seal.

A thunderous screech fill the arena as Naruto was working on the finishing touches of his seal. "DIE YOU DAMN PERVERT!" Naruto whipped his head around to see Sakura slam her fists into the ground creating a crater with the edges rising five feet above the arena. What the hell had his clones done? Suddenly the memories of clone number 42 came to Naruto and he smacked his head. Apparently that clone had the 'brilliant' idea of throwing Sakura off her game by groping her butt.

Sakura decided that enough was enough and charged at the original Naruto like a mad bull. Naruto barely managed to leap out of the way of Sakura's attack. The young kunoichi wasn't able to stop her momentum causing her fist to slam into the wall. Sakura's attack cracked the wall all the way up to the foreign balcony splitting the balcony into Iwa and Kumo halves.

Naruto flipped around in mid air to face Sakura and he whipped out the scroll with his new seal. The young Namikaze called out, "Duel Elemental Seal: Lightning Bound Tornado Sealing Method!" Bolts of lightning erupted from the scroll forming a net around Sakura. Immediately afterward, what looked like the top of a tornado appeared on the net. This whirlwind quickly proceeded to suck all of the air out of the net causing Sakura to faint from lack of oxygen.

The seal was canceled as soon as Sakura fainted. Genma walked over to where the two genin were wondering what the hell was up with this generation. Naruto was standing next to Sakura and moved aside so that Genma could check on the girl. A quick pulse check confirmed that she was still alive. The referee immedialtly called out, "Naruto Namikaze is the winner. Once again, there will be a brief intermission as we repair the stadium."

* * *

It took half an hour for the stadium to return to workable condition, but eventually the next match arrived between Neji Hyuga and Samui from Kumo. Understandably enough, Neji was glaring daggers of the Kumo ninja. "Fate has decreed that this is your end Kumo scum."

Samui gave Neji a sensuous grin and shot back, "Oh really? Do you really claim to see my death at your hands? If so, then you are blind little boy. For you see, any Hyuga other than the main branch who goes against a Kumo ninja has signed away their lives. Whether you live or die is entirely in my hands."

Judging by the previous matches, Genma called the start of the match and jumped out of the arena. He wasn't about to get in the way of a grudge match between over powered genins.

However, an epic battle never happened. Samui simply formed a handsign and called out, "Pain." Neji immediately let out a blood curdling scream of agony and dropped to his knees. Samui held the sign for a few seconds and then ended the hand sign. "As I said little boy, any Hyuga who is not of the main branch is at the mercy of any Kumo ninja."

Neji gasped out, "How? That was the sign-"

Samui nodded her head and shot back, "Correct. That's the sign needed to activate that pathetic seal you morons brand yourselves with. Imagine my village's surprise when we examined Hizashi Hyuga's body and discovered how half-assed the Hyuuga's prized seal was. A close inspection of the seal allowed our seal experts to find the trigger sign to activate the seal's punishment features. Did you know that the seal only has a 20% chance of actually sealing your bloodline? One of Hizashi's eyes was sealed, but the other was in perfect condition. The current Raikage decided that the eye wasn't worth the effort that the previous Raikage went through to get the eye and sold it. Rumor has it that the eye's new owner is some Jonin from Kiri."

The Kumo kunoichi walked closer to Neji and whispered into his ear, "Give up boy. If you do, you'll be able to be healed by the medics. If you don't, I'll activate the seal again and hold it until you're just a vegetable. Don't try to use this chance to sneak attack me because I can activate the seal in a second. Even students at Kumo's ninja school can make that sign in less than two seconds. Our Yondaime insured that we all know the sign in order to show how weak you Keikei Genkai holders are."

Hiruzen had seen enough and called out, "This match is over." A few of the ninjas glanced up at the Hokage wondering what was going on. "The Kumo ninja has clearly demonstrated that she is superior to her opponent. There is no point in continuing this match when the victor is clear and we are behind schedule due to repairs." Genma nodded his head and quickly confirmed the Hokage's ruling.

Hiashi quickly turned to Naruto and stated, "Namikaze, I request that you join my nephew to check on how the seal has affected his health. As soon as you've checked him out, either remove the seal or take notes so that a more experienced seal master can begin the removal process." The clan head would have gone himself to check on his nephew, but he needed to stay for Shino and Ino's matches.

As Naruto hurried to the medical wing, Hiashi vowed to have the cage bird seal removed from every branch member of the clan ASAP. Obviously, the seal was worthless if anyone could activate it and it couldn't even do its primary job properly. Hiashi closed his eyes and thought about his clan advisors: the Hyuga elders. He mentally selected the most traditional half of the council along with the Hyuga seal maker. Those eight would be sent to the Hokage to be executed on a treason charge for undermining Konoha's military strength. Someone needed to die for this debacle and the ones who were the most insistent on hamstringing the clan should be the ones to pay the price.

* * *

The one problem with hosting the Chunin Exams, Hiruzen mused, was the cost of repairing everything after the matches. It seemed that the genin got more destructive every time the exams returned to Konoha. This exam had been particularly painful as they had already used up the allotted repair budget and only got through the preliminaries! Well, at least he knew for a fact that the finals would be one hell of a show for the crowds. A few seeded bets and Konoha would easily recapture the increased costs for this exam.

Except for the third match, Hiruzen had been thrilled to watch the potential that the younger generation had displayed. Part of him was annoyed that Kiba lost to Daichi, Tenten lost to Gaara and was currently in intensive care, and that Tsurugi lost to Temari. It always was bitter when a member of the hosting village lost to a foreign village. Asuka's victory over Ino didn't bother Hiruzen at all because the girl would only be an Iwa ninja for two more years at most. Her victory showed that Konoha would be getting a very strong kunoichi. The old Hokage got some satisfaction when Shino beat Kauri from Kumo; although his satisfaction probably wasn't as high as Hiashi's was. Hiruzen hadn't been too concerned about the remaining matches since those were Konoha verses Konoha. Still, both the winners and losers of those matches had given impressive displays when Sasuke beat Kabut, Hinata beat Akudou, and Lee's surprising victory over Choji.

Currently, Hiruzen was sitting in a small conference room in the tower where the preliminaries had just been held with Hiashi, Inoichi, Gai, Itachi. Hiruzen looked at the four Jonin instructors and calmly stated. "It's time for us to plan the training regimes of our finalists for the exams. Hiashi has Naruto and Shino who passed, Inoichi has Sasuke and Shikamaru, Itachi has Hinata, and finally Gai has Lee who passed. The starting line-up for the Finals are Naruto vs Dachi, Samui vs Temari, Gaara vs Lee, Shino vs Sasuke, Asuka verses Hinata, and finally Omoi vs. Shikamaru. Your thoughts gentlemen on how we should proceed to train our contestants."

Hiashi was the first to speak. "One match is clearly decided; Lee cannot beat Gaara."

Gai slammed his fists on the table and screamed, "WHAT! How dare you say that about my youthful student?"

Itachi quickly came to Hiashi's defense. "Lee's skills are impressive, but useless against Gaara. Taijutsu alone will not win against Gaara; Only the Hidden Lotus has the potential to get pass the Suna ninja's sand defense and do enough damage in the short time it will take Gaara to bring his sand defenses against Lee. However, the Lotus is not a sure attack and cannot be held safely for more than a few seconds. Had the boy any ability with chakra I would have suggested that he be placed under Kakashi's tutelage. Given the boy's abilities and what we know, our best course of action is to train Lee so that he can probe Gaara's defenses. Lee should be able to protract the battle long enough for our remaining contestants to study Gaara's growth allowing them to defeat him in a later match."

Hiruzen nodded his head and made up his mind. "Agreed, young Lee will be trained so that he can reveal Gaara's limits." The old Hokage turned to face Gai and gave the man a small smile. "Don't worry Gai, I have the utmost confidence that you can train the boy to study Gaara and make it out safely. Should Lee do an adequate job his promotion is assured."

Itachi then spoke again. "As the Uchiha Clan head, I'll be taking Sasuke on a month long training session. I'll be leaving Hinata with several jutsu scrolls and some training advice. This should help supplement whatever training you're planning on giving her Hiashi."

Inoichi nodded his head and replied, "No problems Itachi. I was hoping you do that so that I and my old buddies could focus on Shikamaru's training."

Hiashi waited until Inoichi finished before he answered Itachi. "Thank you for the scrolls Itachi. I'm sure that they will be of great help in Hinata's training. The new variant of Juuken you've helped Hinata develop has already given her an edge that I wasn't expecting." In all honesty, Hiashi had mixed feelings on Hinata's personal Juuken style. On the one hand, he was proud that she had the skill to personalize the clan's style into such a formidable weapon. On the other hand, he was disappointed that she didn't master the traditional style. At the very least she could have shown mastery of the main style before adding her own spin to it! Still, Itachi had somehow brought out the potential that Hiashi knew had been sleeping inside Hinata for years.

Gai turned to Hiashi and spoke up, "And what about you Hiashi? What are your plans for your youthful students?"

"I'll be preparing several scrolls for both boys as soon as I leave. I also plan on having Shino's father train the boy. As for Naruto, I'll be supervising his training for a few days until Jiraiya returns. He will most likely want to oversee the rest of Naruto's training."

Hiruzen nodded his head again as he listened to the plans for the finalists. "Very well, we'll proceed as you've all stated unless something comes up. Inform your students who didn't pass that they are to report to the Hokage tower in four days unless they are still in recovery. Temporary teams will be created to insure that they continue their training and so that the increased D rank missions that this time brings can be met."

Despite themselves, the Hokage and the Jonins couldn't help cracking small smiles at the hell they were about to put the failures through. Nothing drove home the point that you needed to train more to beat the exams then having to clean septic tanks and get strange items for screeching nobles who wouldn't know reality if it smacked them in the ass. The nobles might be the most valuable customers of the village outside of the Daimyo, but didn't mean that the ninjas liked the pigs at all.

The Hokage signaled for Itachi to remain as the other Jonins left the conference rooms. Itachi glanced at Hiruzen and asked, "What is it sir?"

Hiruzen took out his pipe and said, "I've decided to step down as Hokage at the end of the exams. Your enthronement will happen once the exams are over."

Itachi raised an eyebrow and asked, "Isn't it too soon?"

Hiruzen quickly shook his head, "You've got the power and the skill for the position. All you need is the experience which only comes with doing the job. Besides, I'm willing to offer you advice if you feel the need. The exam offers a good time to make the announcement by allowing us to let everyone in the village and the Land of Fire know who is in charge."


	9. Chapter 9

Hiruzen sat in his office smoking his pipe and calmly looked at his two loyal students. "Ah Tsunade, I'm so happy to finally see again in the village. It's been far too long since you've come for a visit."

Tsunade smacked her fists together and glared at her sensei. "Can we skip the pleasantries Sarutobi? Why did you have Jiraiya hunt me down?"

The old Hokage shrugged his shoulders and replied, "For a variety of reasons. Your travel papers need to be renewed in a few months. I wanted to see how you were doing and find out if you had made any new discoveries that our medical ninjas needed to be informed about." Hiruzen's voice then got firm and deadly serious as he continued, "And the village needs your clan's documents on your grandmother."

Jiraiya blinked his eyes and asked, "Huh? Why do you need documents about old Mito Senju? Can't you just get them out of the vault? I mean, as Hokage you're allowed to retrieve clan documents as long as you have written permission of the clan head. So, why did I waste my time hunting down Tsunade when I could be training my godson?" Jiraiya then noticed the tightening in Tsunade's fists and thought she was getting ready to attack him. He the hurridly blurted out, "Not that there's anything wrong with looking for you Tsunade It's just that-"

"Shut up Jiraiya!" Tsunade's tone was unusually cold and harsh. The Slug Sannin quickly shot Hiruzen a withering glare. "There's only one set of documents left by my grandmother that would need me here in the village. Now tell me why do you need those documents?"

Hiruzen returned Tsunade's glare with interest and replied, "We need those documents for one purpose. That purpose is to train Naruto Namikaze on how to wield the Kyuubi's power."

Jiraiya's eyes bulged out and he exclaimed, "What the hell sensei? I thought we were still keeping that a secret!" It wasn't like Jiraiya thought that Tsunade couldn't handle the secret. However, secrets are harder to keep a secret when more people know about them.

The Hokage glared at his other student forcing Jiraiya to calm down. "We are still keeping Naruto's status a secret. However, Tsunade's cooperation is necessary for Naruto's training. After all, her grandmother was the original host of the Kyuubi and she herself was a candidate to contain the beast when Mito was close to passing on. Both of these facts are of course top secret. Only Naruto can know outside of the people in this room."

Tsunade noticed the shell shocked looked on Jiraiya's face and rolled her eyes. "As you know, my grandfather and Madara fought at the Valley of the End where Madara forced the Kyuubi to attack my grandfather. The Shodai was able to force Madara to retreat with mortal wounds, but he didn't have to power in his exhausted state to calm the Kyuubi like the other Biju. My grandmother saved Grandfather by using her sealing knowledge to seal the Kyuubi inside her."

"Towards the end of my grandmother's life she determined that it was necessary to transfer the demon to a new, younger host in order to insure that the demon wouldn't be able attack Konoha in vengeance for being sealed. I," Tsunade paused to glare at the Hokage, "was nominated as a prime candidate to receive the beast. However, my age, lack of sealing knowledge, and emotional instability at the time made Grandmother reject me as a viable candidate to hold the Kyuubi. A message was sent to the Uzumaki for a young sealing prodigy to take Grandmother's place. Unfortunately, a storm delayed the arrival of Kushina and forced my Grandmother to take drastic measures. She left Konoha, unsealed the Kyuubi, and used the last of her life force to create a seal that would prevent the Kyuubi from ever returning to Konoha on its own as long as her kin lived in the village."

An eerie calm descended on the Hokage's office as Tsunade finished her tale. That calm soon ended when Hiruzen took a puff of his pipe and then spoke. "Now that everyone is caught up on our village's secrets, I think we should proceed. As you both know there are two foreign containers currently residing in Konoha for the exam. This provides us an excellent opportunity for training Naruto to handle the Kyuubi's power since any demonic chakra can be attributed to the other containers. Besides, we'll need an ace in the arena if Gaara's strategy is the usual foreign tactics of having the container release the demon's power as a berserker."

Hiruzen glanced between the duo before continuing. "This will be a joint effort between the two of you. Jiraiya, you know Naruto's abilities and I know that you've created several seals to help in this type of training. Tsunade, you've been handed several of the secrets needed to control the demon and you saw your grandmother train with the Kyuubi's power. Let me be perfectly clear on this one point. It's up to you two to make sure that Naruto can control at least 1 tail of the Kyuubi's chakra by the Exams. Understood?"

Both Sannin nodded their heads showing that they understood. Hirzuen then dismissed his students and sighed as soon as they closed the door. The old Hokage felt the weight of time pressing down on him as he considered what his actions would cause. On the one hand, it seemed to cheapen Naruto's efforts in his ninja studies by having his training focused on controlling the Kyuubi. After all, it was locked away safely within him and the boy was very impressive in his command of the regular ninja arts.

However, it was foolish to not have the boy learn to use such a powerful tool when it was at his disposal and a foreign ninja had a similar tool. Hiruzen frowned when considered the powers of the biju. The beasts truly deserved the terror and dread that they inspired since they were effectively forces of nature with the power they wielded. Hiruzen could still remember when the nine biju were in Konoha under the Shodai's control. He also remembered the controversy over the biju being handed out among the most powerful nations at that time.

Unlike those fools who only saw weapons of war being handed out, Hiruzen was aware of the truth. The biju were not meant to be together. Hashirama had literally been burning years of his life off keeping all of them under control. One or two biju was no problem for him to control, but each beast he controlled increased the strain of controlling all biju exponentially. Something about the biju increased their aggressiveness and bloodthirstiness when they were near each other. Passing out the demons insured that they'd remain docile enough to be sealed away and prevented Konoha from being leveled to the ground since they would have destroyed the village the instant Hirashirama died. Besides, the dispersion of the biju resulted in many of the smaller lands joining under the banner of the lands that were given the biju and thus helped to somewhat stabilize the land.

* * *

Asuka was currently looking around the house trying to find where Naruto was at. She finally found him in the study sleeping at his desk. It was cute how he had fallen asleep while researching something and was using whatever book he was studying as a pillow. The young Tenjounin thought about what she should do for a moment before she placed a hand on Naruto's cheek and started to caress it.

Naruto started to stir a bit in response to Asuka's ministrations and then started to mutter in his sleep. "I'll teach you later boys, go check on your mother. Yes dear, I'll take care of the trash. Why do we have to visit your brother dear? I'd rather stay here with you Asuka then go see your folks."

A blush quickly formed on Asuka's face as she listened to Naruto sleep talk. He dreamed of having a family with her? What was she supposed to say to that? Okay, it was rather sweet that he dreamed of her. They were engaged after all and it was expect that they'd eventually have a family. Asuka's blush got even brighter as memories of her visionary dream returned. Just what was she supposed to do?

It took some thought, but eventually Asuka decided it was best for her to simply file this away for the future and wake up Naruto before his dreams slipped into the ecchi realm. She knew for a fact that she just wouldn't be able to handle something like that at the moment. Asuka started to shake Naruto's shoulder and gently called out, "Good morning Naruto. It's time to get up."

Naruto slowly returned to the land of the awake and announced his return with a loud yawn. He then shook his head and turned to face Asuka. "Good morning Asuka." Naruto paused to realize where he was and a faint tint of red appeared on his cheeks. "I guess I fell asleep in my study."

A touch of laughter filled Asuka's eyes and she let out a tiny giggle. "Seeing as I found you here Naruto, I'd say that's a good guess."

Both teens laughed at Naruto's situation for a minute and then calmed down. Naruto gave Asuka one of his patented grins and asked, "So why where you looking for me Asuka?"

The young kunoichi put her hands behind her back and nodded her head. "For two reasons actually Naruto. One, its breakfast time and I'd like for you to at least get a taste of my pancake special. Of course, that's if my brother and teammates haven't already eaten all of the pancakes. The second reason is you and I have been invited to go to the theater this evening by Ayame Uchiha. Apparently she and her husband got two sets of tickets to the 7 o'clock showing of Sakumo the Silly Samurai."

Naruto nodded his head and replied, "Wonderful! It will be great to introduce you to Ayame and her husband Asuka. Hopefully Jiraiya will let us out of training early so we can get ready for the play." Asuka blinked her eyes and then Naruto smacked his forehead. "That's right, I haven't told you yet. My godfather insisted that you join us today for training. I was a little surprised when he told me, but I guess he figures that the better trained you are the better off our family will be."

Once again, a small blush briefly appeared on Asuka's face at Naruto's announcement of 'their family'. How was he able to casually say things like that and yet still be anxious whenever romance was mentioned? Asuka decided to just let it go for now. Besides, they had breakfast to catch before training. If Fabuki ate all the pancakes again she was going to pound him good. After all, she had made them for Naruto, not her brother's gut!

* * *

An hour after breakfast, both Asuka and Naruto were standing in the training field waiting for Jiraiya. The field itself was one of the isolated fields and usually used when people wanted to train special techniques without having someone accidentally walk in on their training. Asuka glanced around trying to find Jiraiya and then put her hands on her hips. "Where is your godfather Naruto?"

Naruto shrugged and replied, "Who knows. However, my money's either on him peeping at a hot spring or being hunted down by the Kunoichi Association again. I wouldn't worry about it too much; Jiraiya's never late by more than 20 minutes when something's holding him up." Naruto sat down next to a tree and pulled out a book. He might as well use this time to study some seals. Asuka decided to follow suit and use her time productively. She sat down next to another tree and began to read a book on genjutsu.

The young couple spent then next few minutes slowly becoming more and more relaxed as they studied their favored arts. Both young ninjas had become so engrossed in their studies that they practically lost touch with their surroundings. Without warning, chains shot out of the ground and bound both Asuka and Naruto to trees they were sitting against. Naruto's chains crackled with lightning and shocked Naruto. The only reason why Naruto didn't scream out in agony was the pain resistance training Jiraiya had given him.

A masked kunoichi with an Oto headband leap down into the clearing and looked at the bound heirs. "Well, well, well," the kunoichi muttered to herself. "This certainly is a lucky day. It will be quiet shocking when Konoha discovers that you two killed each other in a training spar. Naturally Iwa will suspect foul play, but they'll think that it was on Konoha's part. Now I just need to get rid of you two then I can sit back and watch as the war begins." The Oto kunoichi turned towards Asuka and called out, "Katon: Karyuudan!"

Naruto looked on in horror as the stream of fire rushed towards Asuka. The pain from the electrified chains was ignored as he focused on the plight of his fiancé. Desperately he shouted out, "NOO**OO!"** Something within Naruto snapped and a torrent of malicious chakra rushed out of the young ninja. Asuka only saw a cloud of dust out of the corner of her eye as most of her attention was on the fire coming towards her. She didn't really get a chance to react to aura of hatred and destruction flowing from Naruto as she was suddenly pulled under the ground.

The 'Oto' kunoichi glanced over at Naruto and gulped in fear. Naruto was hunched over in a five foot deep crater where an old oak had once proudly stood. Crimson chakra surrounded the young Namikaze creating a fox shaped cloak with three tails. With a beast-like growl, Naruto muttered, "**Hurt mate, kill you**!" Naruto then got on all fours and rushed at the kunoichi like a hound from hell.

Naruto's speed barely gave the kunoichi time to duck and avoid having her head ripped off by a chakra claw. She then had to jump into the air to avoid being hit by one of Naruto's 'tails'. It was a good thing for her that she had jumped because the tail created a trench in the ground and cut an old tree's trunk like a hot knife through butter. The kunoichi did a back flip and landed on a tree branch. She then started to pale under her mask as she glanced at Naruto and noticed a fourth tail start to grow.

Deciding enough was enough, the 'Oto' kunoichi took off her mask to reveal the Slug Princess. Tsunade then hollered out, "Get your ass out here now Jiraiya!" Naruto whipped his head around pinpointing Tsunade thanks to her scream. Unfortunately for Tsunade, Naruto's mind was almost a completely feral due to the Kyuubi's chakra. His cloak was darkening as the fourth tail continued to form making it harder and harder to see Naruto's body.

Things were not going good for Tsunade. Naruto was drawing far more power from the Kyuubi than he should have. Hell, Jiraiya's wildest estimates only had the boy drawing two tails worth of chakra. Naruto should have only drawn a single tail given his age and the fact that this was his first time drawing demonic chakra. The Slug Princess jumped into the air again and barely dodged attempts by the berserker Naruto to impale her with his tails. Tsunade then started racing through the trees thankful for her grandmother's heritage since it allowed her to shake off most of the toxic effects of the demonic chakra.

It was like a sick game of cat and mouse as Naruto chased after Tsunade. She couldn't attack him because none of her attacks were suited for fighting a berserker Jinchurriki. What good was super strength against almost solid charka that burned like acid? Naruto didn't have any such problems as he tore up the training ground. Old growth trees went flying into the air and deep trenches were appearing in the ground in the wake of Naruto's attacks.

Naruto's beasty mind quickly grew frustrated at being unable to kill his mate's 'killer'. The four tailed kitsune sat back on his haunches and brought his tails forwards so that their tips were in front of his mouth. A dense ball of chakra formed between the tail tips and quickly grew to the size of a beach ball. Then the ball shrunk to the size of a grape and was swallowed by Naruto. Immediately afterwards, Naruto belched out a chakra blast more that twice as wide as he was tall.

Jiraiya chose this moment to jump in front the oncoming blast with a Chou Oodama Rasengan while using Sennin Mudo. The demonic chakra blast collided with the sage jutsu creating a magnificent explosion. Tsunade watched as oversized Rasengan deflected the blast and broke it up into a dozen smaller and less deadly beams. Jiraiya dug in his feet to keep from being blown away and was able to hold firm. Naruto's demonic chakra blast attack lasted a few seconds, but to Jiraiya and Tsunade it seemed like an eternity.

The toad sage didn't waste the opportunity and instantly disengaged his Chou Oodama Rasengan as soon as Naruto's attack stopped. Jiraiya then made a made dash towards Naruto, whipped out a seal from his pocket, and slammed the seal onto Naruto's forehead. The sealed glowed and the demonic chakra enveloping Naruto quickly dissipated. Jiraiya promptly turned over the now unconscious Naruto and examined his seal. As expected with its divine origins, the seal was in perfect condition.

Off to the side, Tsunade waited as Jiraiya did his inspection. As soon as he was finished, she walked over and smacked the back of his head. "What the hell were you waiting for Jiraiya? The plan was for you to pull the brat's girl away from danger, get her to the Toads so they could get her out of the field, and then return to knock your godson out. So why did it take you so long?"

With a grumble Jiraiya shot back, "Hey! In case you weren't paying attention Naruto was pumping out more chakra than I expected. Unlike you, I don't have the ability to naturally resist demonic chakra at those levels. It took me a while to collect enough nature chakra to enter Sennin Mudo."

Tsunade then huffed at her teammates reply. "Whatever you say Jiraiya, but know this: you're the attacker if we have to repeat this exercise again."

* * *

Konoha's theater was one of the village's main non ninja attractions besides its hot springs. It had been built by the Shodai himself as a present to his wife since she enjoyed plays. Naruto and Asuka were both sitting in one of the theater's box seats wearing formal kimonos. A small walkway separated the young couple from Itachi and Ayame who were likewise formally dressed.

Naruto glanced down at the stage below and half-heartedly watched the play. He glanced over at Asuka and saw her eyes sparkling in joy. A small grin appeared on Naruto's face knowing that date was enjoying the play. That grin grew into a polite chuckle when Sakumo was tricked in the play by Sasuke the Sly Shinobi. Of course, it was rather hard to hear Naruto's chuckle giving the roars of laughter from the crowd below. Naruto picked out Asuka's almost musical laughter out of the general roar and couldn't help feeling lighter when he heard her voice.

The laughter quickly died down as the play continued and Naruto's mood became more melancholy. It wasn't that the play was boring; Sakumo the Silly Samurai was a masterpiece and the actors were performing it flawlessly. Naruto's problem was that he had other things on his mind. Specifically, his godfather's 'training' exercise earlier in the day.

How was he supposed to deal with his godfather faking a murder attempt on Asuka in order to unlock the Kyuubi's power? Furthermore, how was he supposed to deal with the raw destructive power that tapping into a mere fraction of the demon's power gave him? Naruto had known about the Kyuubi for over a year, but havoc he rained on the training field was the first time it really hit him about just what he contained. Part of Naruto wanted to punch Jiraiya for this 'betrayal'. Another part of him wanted to curl up into a ball at the thought of what he could unleash. Yet another part of Naruto understood why Jiraiya had done what he did.

Unlike other containers, Naruto's seal was focused around keeping his biju locked up instead of rapid deployment of the demon. Thus, it was impossible for Naruto to simply draw on the demon's power at will. He first needed to tap into the demon's power by being in a situation where the demon's chakra was the only thing that could save him. According to Jiraiya, it would be possible for Naruto to now access smaller portions of the Kyuubi's chakra since he had used it once. Jiraiya figured that 'smaller portions' meant that Naruto wouldn't be able to summon more than a single tail at the current time with just his will. The unexpectedly high amount of demonic chakra that Naruto had released was because of his 'higher than expected emotional attachment' to Asuka.

Naruto paused in his musing to glance at Asuka. He carefully gazed at her face taking in her soft brown eyes, her lighter long brown hair, and her perfectly formed face. Unable to stop his gaze, Naruto's eyes wandered down taking in the rest of Asuka's features from her generous and firm breasts, to her slender but strong arms, and to her long and powerful legs. While Naruto's eyes were feasting on Asuka's outer beauty, his mind thought about his experiences with Asuka. Her letters showed that she was friendly and playful person. Every time they talked with each other Naruto could see that she cared about him; however, she was nervous because of their upcoming wedding. The fact that it could happen in a month if both of them became chunin made things a little awkward. Even when she fought with Fubuki she displayed an aura of caring about her brother. Of course, that aura was sometimes hard to see given how hard Fubuki could push the line.

'Higher than expected emotional attachment', the phrase bugged the hell out of Naruto. Just what did it mean? Of course he had 'emotional attachment' to Asuka; she was his fiancée for Buddha's sake! What kind of man wouldn't be enraged at the thought of watching his bride to be roasted in front of his eyes? The thought her getting hurt made Naruto grid his teeth together. That would never happen on his watch; he'd insure that Asuka got all the training necessary so that no one could hope to hurt her.

These musing were put on hold when the play's narrator got onto the stage and addressed the crowd. "Attention Ladies and Gentlemen, we will now have a forty minute interlude. Fresh off the oven bentos are waiting in the lobby for your enjoyment. All you have to do is hand over the meal stub attached to your ticket and you can pick any one bento to enjoy. Attendants will be making rounds every five minutes for any patron that wants fresh tea. For those patrons in our box seats, an attendant will be by shortly to deliver a full tea kettle with a selection of tea mixes."

Itachi glanced over as soon as the narrator finished speaking and called to Naruto. "Why don't we take this time to get dinner for our ladies Naruto?"

Naruto nodded his head and asked Asuka, "Is there anything in particular you'd like me to get for you?"

Asuka put her hand to her chin and then tapped her cheek with a finger a few times as she thought. She then smiled at Naruto and replied, "Fish would be great! If there is any sea fish in the fish selection go with that. It's not easy to get fresh fish in Iwa and almost impossible to get genuine seafood as opposed to freshwater fish."

Naruto nodded his head and stood up. He glanced over to Itachi and Ayame just in time to see Ayame kiss Itachi's cheek. The two men then left the box seat and headed down towards the lobby. As they were walking, Itachi unexpectedly spoke. "Are you enjoying the play?"

Very quickly Naruto replied, "Yes I am. Thanks for inviting Asuka and I to the play. However, I've got a lot on my mind tonight so if it looked like I wasn't enjoying the play it was just because my mind was on other things."

Itachi nodded his head accepting Naruto's answer. "I fully understand your situation Naruto. I also often have things on my mine that worry me a great deal. However, I've found that those worries become less of a burden when I'm with Ayame. Being with the woman you love allows one to look beyond the current problems and see the good in any situation; even when the problem involves the woman you love. Hopefully, you will be able to reach this point as well. Now, let's stop talking and get dinner."

The duo quickly picked up the bentos, Naruto making sure to get a seafood bento for Asuka, and then returned to their box. Asuka's eyes light up when she saw what Naruto had gotten her and she kissed his cheek. Naruto's face naturally started to turn pink which caused Ayame and Itachi to grin in amusement. Everyone then proceeded to eat dinner with some small talk to spice the dinner.

Naruto gave Asuka a quick glance as the play started up again. He wasn't completely sure what he felt for her. It very well could be love; Naruto just didn't have the experience to say what romantic love was. However, Naruto promised himself that no matter what he wouldn't let Asuka get hurt if he could prevent it and he would see to it that she had everything she needed to be happy. Anything else was unacceptable to him.

* * *

Tsunade sat cross legged on a mat in one of the Senju Clan's dojos with Naruto sitting in front of her. The Slug Princess looked at her distant relative and begrudgingly began to execute the one task she had prayed she'd never have to do. "Okay Naruto, the first thing you need to remember about the Kyuubi's chakra is that it's filled with rage and the need for destruction. Your little landscaping experience yesterday is a prime example of this fact. Willpower and determination are useless in controlling the Fox's power. Now, these will help you keep your mind dominate when using low levels of the demon's chakra. But, the Fox will always be sending you more chakra until it makes you act like a mindless beast. Furthermore, the chakra itself is poisonous to you in large doses and even more dangerous when your mind is in a feral state."

"Luckily, there are ways to beat the demon. The first is positive emotions of which love is the most powerful. When you fill your heart with love, or another positive emotion like joy, it causes your chakra to resonate in a way that negates the darker and more malevolent aspects of the Fox's chakra making it easier to control. Furthermore, you have Uzumaki blood flowing through your veins granting you a massive advantage over other containers. This advantage comes in three parts. Your chakra has a natural base resonance that mute's a demon's taint on chakra. Your body is far more resistant to the poisonous effects of demonic chakra. This means that you can channel more of a demon's power before it starts to hurt you. Finally, your Uzumaki blood grants you amazing vitality allows you to live far longer than normal people. What makes this important is that a container's life is actually shortened when they use a very large amount of a demon's power for more than a few minutes."

Tsunade then pointed to herself as she continued on. "I'm a good example of this vitality in action. I currently look like a twenty something year old woman even though I'm in my fifties. Everyone thinks that this is merely a genjutsu I've placed over myself and I let them think that. The truth is, this is how I actually look because of the vitality I inherited from my grandmother. I'll probably continue to look like this for another 20 or more years before I slowly start to age physically. My Grandmother was in her seventies when she died and that was with heavy usage of the Kyuubi in the First and Second Shinobi Wars."

Silence descended on the dojo as Tsunade let Naruto fully digest what she had told him. Tsunade waited a few moments until she was sure that her student was ready for the next part of the lecture. "Now than Naruto, there are two ways that one can use a biju's power: the dumbass way and the smart way. The dumbass method involves simply drawing on the beast like macho moron and either using to boost your attack power or just go berserk. The smart way is the method my Grandmother and several other members of her clan used when they contained biju."

"This method works by changing how a container channels their prisoner's power. Instead of directly drawing demonic chakra, the Uzumaki created a special item tied to the user and the seal holding their prisoner. This item, which my Grandmother dubbed the 'Hell Gate', was set up so that it worked with their heart's resonance to greatly increase the purifying powers of their chakra. An Uzumaki container would then draw their demon's power through their Hell Gate where the demonic chakra would be purified before they used it. My Grandmother's headband was her Hell Gate; unfortunately, it won't work for anyone as each Hell Gate is completely tied to the individual who created it."

"Your godfather is currently collecting some supplies you'll need to make a Hell Gate Naruto. The two of you are going to be studying some of my Grandmother's scrolls when he gets here so you can construct your own gate."


	10. Chapter 10

Konoha's battle stadium was packed as the crowd eagerly waited for the Chunin Exams to begin. Hiruzen was currently sitting in the recently expanded Kage booth with the Yondaime Kazekage Hideki to his left. Oonoki was sitting on Hiruzen's right and Ei was sitting next to Oonoki. It was unusual for four Kages to be sitting next to each other, but then again this was an unusual tournament. Most tournaments only had two or occasionally three villages represented in the finals. Having ninjas from so many major villages in one tournament meant that the prestige at stake was much higher than normal.

Oonoki grinned and glanced at his fellow leaders. "Well boys, it looks like we're going to have quite the show."

Hideki scoffed and his face set into a scowl. "I don't have times for amusements old man. As long as he wins the tournament I couldn't care less. At least now the costs I've put into the boy will pay off."

Ei's brow curled in disgust. "Shut your mouth you desert scavenger. It's already hard enough just being in the same booth as you. I don't need to loose my appetite as well by listening to you spout that garbage."

"Gentlemen," Hiruzen firmly interjected his voice in the growing argument wanting to nip this problem in the bud. "We're here to watch our genin fight to become Chunin. It is not our place to fight amongst ourselves at this time."

Unfortunately for Hiruzen, Oonoki was finding it hilarious to watch the younger Kages bicker. "We could always hold an exhibition match to start the tournament off. I'm sure everyone would love to see two kages duke it out."

Seeing that Hideki and Ei were favorable to the idea, Hiruzen quickly went for broke and pulled out his trump card. "There isn't time to set up a betting pool for a match between Kages. The daimyos and guild heads would be most upset if they couldn't bet on such a match." That immediately settled the other two Kages down. No matter who you were, it just didn't pay to upset the guy who wrote your paycheck. As soon as things calmed down Hiruzen started counting the seconds until the tournament would start.

* * *

After what seemed like an eternity, a blond haired man in a fancy kimono with shades over his eyes walked onto the arena. The man threw a microphone into the air, caught it, and immediately assumed a victory pose. "OH YEAH, ARE YOU ALL READY FOR VIOLENCE AND CARNAGE?" A roar of approval ripped through the stadium causing the blonde to smile. "NOW THAT IS WHAT I WANT TO HEAR! WELCOME LORDS AND LADIES TO THE TOBIRAMA MEMORIAL STADIUM WHERE THE 26TH SEMIANNUAL CHUNIN EXAM FINALS ARE BEING HELD." There was another roar of approval from the crowd.

Once the crowd calmed down, the announcer continued without the volume on his mike cranked up so much and a heavy metal song was put on for the background. "For today only you will get the chance to witness the utter ferocity of the ninja in combat. Twelve of the most promising up and coming ninjas from four of the most powerful villages on the continent will give their all with the honor and prestige of their villages on the line. To whom will this tournament's ceremonial Wakizashi go to? Will it to be to someone in whom the legendary Will of Fire burns like an inferno? Maybe the Wakizashi will go to someone with the Resolve of Stone stronger than a mountain range? Perhaps it belongs to someone with the Spontaneity of Lighting? Or it could be that this tournament's trophy belongs to someone with the Fury of the Wind? We will find out just who the victor will be when the dust settles today!"

"Our first match features an old rivalry, a grudge match between Iwa and Konoha! Representing Iwa is Daichi Misawa." A stage hand immediately set up a genjutsu as Daichi was lifted onto the arena via a trap door making it look like Daichi had risen from the ground in a stone pillar. The tournament was about putting on a good show for the clientele as much as it was about promotion after all. The announcer then grinned as the background music changed. "Defending Konoha's honor is Naruto Namikaze!" Once again, Naruto came onto the stage via a trap door elevator. The genjutsu cast on his entrance made it look like he appeared out of a pillar of fire.

Naruto didn't pay any attention to the theatrics the announcer was putting on. His entire focus was on Daichi. All that existed for him was his opponent and the battlefield. Immediately after the announcer called the start of the match, Naruto grabbed his new staff off his back and took a defensive stance.

Daichi's response was to form an unusual hand seal and call out, "Ninja Art: Silent Breese Dispersal." A genjutsu quickly made Daichi seem to disappear as dust in the wind. Naruto countered by trying to release the illusion, but Daichi remained out of sight. The crowd silently watched as Naruto tightened his defense trying to cover any exploitable holes. However, Daichi did not strike. Seconds dragged on into minutes and still Daichi didn't appear. The crowd started to grow restless with the lack of action and Naruto seemingly relaxed his guard.

Suddenly six shurikens appeared out of the ground around Naruto and flew towards him. Two hands also shot out of the ground and tried to grab the Konoha ninja's feet. Naruto responded by slamming his staff into the ground and using it to springboard into the air. Not able to grab their intended target, Daichi's hands grabbed hold of Naruto's staff forcing Naruto to let go in order to avoid the shurikens.

Daichi emerged from the ground just as Naruto landed about three meters away. Daichi gave the staff an appreciating heft and called out to his foe. "That was a poor save Naruto; I expected you to do better. You know that I can't afford to use poison against you so those shiriken would have only inflicted minor wounds on you. Trading one of your main weapons to save on some flesh wounds is a very poor decision. I could have sworn you were trained better than that, but I guess I was mistaken."

A fox-like grin appeared on Naruto's face. He then smiled at Daichi and retorted, "Yes you were mistaken Daichi. But not about my mistake, Seal Release: Agni's Protection." Glowing red seals suddenly appeared all over Naruto's staff. Daichi blinked his eyes and then threw the staff away on instinct. A fire started as soon as the staff touched the grass. The fire quickly started to spread from the staff, but the staff itself remained untouched by the flames.

Naruto was grinning like a mad man while Daichi looked at his seared hands. "Aren't seals wonderful? Agni's Protection allows me to store chakra in my staff to be use at a later date to start a fire hot enough to melt iron. You're lucky you let go when you did Daichi or you'd be on fire right now." Naruto then pulled out a small scroll from his pocket and opened it. The premade seal on the scroll immediately drew the flames of the fire like a vacuum cleaner picking up dirt. Once the last of the fire was sealed, Naruto closed the scroll and bound it with a red thread. He then pocketed the scroll and went to pick up his staff.

Daichi quickly regained his composure and dashed to intercept Naruto. The young Konoha ninja barely had time to collect his staff before having to doge his rival's attack. Both ninjas quickly entered into a weapons brawl with Naruto wielding his staff and Daichi using his twin hidden blades. It was a ferocious contest between the two young ninjas with Daichi thrusting and dogging while Naruto blocked and struck back. Viewers were coming out of their seats to watch the action with cheers of support for both ninjas.

After several minutes, Daichi broke off the battle and jumped back for some space. "It looks like we're too evenly skilled in armed combat to best each other Naruto. However, you're not the only person here with sealing skills." As soon as Daichi said this he leaped into the air. He then immediately pulled out two scrolls and opened them to reveal several dozen seals on each scroll. Olympic pool size piles of dirt and rubble poured out of the seals into a giant mound which Daichi quickly landed on. The Iwa shinobi rushed threw a string of handseals and then shouted out, "Earth Style: Rockslide!"

The pile of rubble rose up like a tidal wave and then rushed towards Naruto. Quickly reacting, Naruto pulled out a scroll bound in red thread and threw it at the earthen wave. A quick yank on the thread caused the scroll to unroll and release the fire. Immediately afterwards Naruto launched a Fuuton: Daitoppa at the scroll as the flames it contained were being unsealed. Daichi jumped off the wave just a blinding flash erupted causing everyone to close their eyes. When people could see again they were greeted by the sight of a giant glass wave in the battlefield.

Daichi stared in shock at the sight of his greatest attack neutralized. He then wobbly raised his hand into the air and called out, "I forfeit." Daichi then collapsed onto the field painting from exhaustion. As soon as the announcer confirmed Naruto's victory, the young ninja walked over and helped his competitor off the field.

* * *

Asuka restlessly watched Gaara and Lee battle in the arena from the contestants' booth. She had to admit that Lee was doing better than everyone had expected and that was amping up the crowd even more than Samui's narrow victory over Temari. Thank the ancestors that Konoha had installed silencing seals to block out most of the noise.

"Is everything alright Asuka?" Asuka didn't bother to turn around to look at Naruto. She merely leaned back slightly and Naruto wrapped his arm around her shoulder. Naruto then whispered secretively into Asuka's ear. "So do you think there's a contest going among the Kages to see who can pull off the most flamboyant Chunin Exam Final? If that is the case, then Gramps wins hands down. Of course, your Uncle could always steal the prize by offering to host a kunoichi mud wrestling tournament."

A small smile appeared on Asuka's face for a few seconds before she playfully elbowed Naruto. "Behave yourself Naruto." She then turned slightly so that she caught Naruto's eyes. "I'm worried about what my match will mean. You probably got your promotion with your last battle. That means that if I do just as well in my match, we'll be married at the end of the month. Even though I do want to go through with the engagement, I just don't feel like I'm ready for that just yet. I thought about throwing the match but-"

Naruto softly finished Asuka's sentence. "Throwing the match would take Iwa out of the tournament and hurt your village's prestige. You don't want to hurt your village just because doing so would help you." Asuka nodded her head and suddenly hugged Naruto. Not knowing any other way to help, Naruto simply let Asuka cling to him as she tried to sort herself out. What else could he do to help?

Asuka didn't pay any attention as Shino and Sasuke left for their match. She didn't care that Gaara marched into the waiting room upset that he wasn't able to kill Lee after winning his match. The fact that her match could be called at any moment was immaterial. All that mattered at the moment was that Naruto was here for her. Marrying him in and of itself wasn't a problem for Asuka; she had plenty of dreams involving the two of them and their wedding. It was just the fact that she'd have to leave Iwa that bothered her. Konoha was a wonderful place, but it wasn't Iwa.

"OH YAH! Is this exam turning HOT or what? Sasuke definitely turned up heat on his opponent, but Shino proved that no amount of burning passion can beat a calm mind." The announcer paused as the crowd roared in excitement. He then grinned as he received the go signal from a stage hand. "My fellow battle fans, have we got a treat for you. If you were exited to see Samui and Temari's match then you'll be ecstatic with our next fight. That's right; we've got a SECOND kunoichi on kunoichi battle!"

The speakers put on a traditional song that was favored by the ladies of the daimyos' courts. "Taking the honor of Konoha into her own hands, we have the heir of the refined Hyuuga Clan lady Hinata Hyuuga!" Hinata appeared in one corner of the arena in a shower of sakura petals. To fit with her selected theme, and to show off Konoha's wide varieties of available missions, Hinata was dressed in a white modified formal kimono. This particular variant was a favorite of kunoichi who had guard duty and had to integrate into court life to protect a lady.

Seconds after Hinata appeared the background music switched to a more lively pop rock tune. The announcer grinned and then shouted out, "Coming like an avalanche from Iwa, we had the scion of a notable Iwa ninja clan. I now give you Asuka Tenjounin!" Genjutsu made it look like a bolder suddenly fell from the sky and that Asuka emerged from the rubble.

Both girls gave each other a hardened stare and assumed their respective battle stances. As soon as the announcer started the battle Asuka slammed her hands to the ground "Clay Golem Technique: Guardian Beetles!" Three horse size great horn beetles emerged from the ground in front of Asuka. The Iwa kunoichi then slowly backed away from the beetles keeping them between her and Hinata. Asuka knew that this battle was going to be tricky for her given that her genjutsu wouldn't work against Hinata.

Hinata responded by activating her Byakugan and reaching into the sleeves of her kimono. She quickly pulled out several shuriken and threw them at Asuka. The center beetle raised the shell protecting its wings and trapped the shuriken on the shell. Immediately afterward, the other two beetles leaped into the air and revealed that they had working wings.

The two beetles flew at Hinata intent on impaling her on their horns. Hinata kept her cool and weaved away from the beetle's first pass. Her face hardened and the heiress shouted out, "Juuho Soushiken!" A spectral blue lion head formed around each of Hinata's hands and she gracefully weaved around the beetles' second pass. She then slammed her fists into each beetle's head in turn causing them to break up into dirt. The final beetle flew at Hinata and she slammed both fists into it breaking up. She then deactivated Juuho Soushiken and let out a small sigh of relief. For a taijutsu move, Juuho Soushiken was excellent at both enhancing one's striking power and disrupting chakra over a wide area. However, it was one of the more draining Hyuuga clan techniques.

Asuka had used her golems' attacks to think about her next move and was now rushing through a series of hand seals. She then placed her hands on the ground and called out "Tenjounin Secret Deadly Golem Technique: Centerfold Reaper- Kunoichi Style!" A smoke bomb hid the golem's formation causing Hinata to take a defensive stance. What kind of monstrosity had Asuka created?

Hinata's eyes bulged out in shock and her cheeks became flush as soon as the smoke started to clear. A tall long haired man wielding a sword confidently stepped out of the dissipating smoke. The man had the face of a model, a muscular body without the muscles being disgustingly large, and didn't have a stitch of clothing on. Roughly half of the ladies in the audience fainted from blood loss when they saw the golem. The fact that what they were seeing was a golem didn't really register as a build in illusion made the golem seem to be a real person.

One of Asuka's eyebrows rose when she saw that Hinata hadn't fainted in shock. That was quiet an impressive feat; Asuka knew that she had fainted when her mother had demonstrated this technique for the first time. A grin then appeared on the Iwa kunoichi's face as her golem rushed towards a still stunned Hinata. The Hyuuga heiress may not be as innocent as she acted, but she was still too innocent to escape this technique. Quick as lighting, the Centerfold Reaper wrapped an arm around Hinata embracing her like a lover and positioned the sword it was carrying at her throat.

Everyone stared at Hinata as she was now down on the ground in an arousing and yet deadly position. After a few seconds the announcer started tugging at his collar and looked over at one of the refs. While sporting a blush, the ref quickly signaled the announcer who nodded his head. "Asuka Tenjounin wins the match due to Hinata Hyuuga being incapacitated."

* * *

Up in the Kage booth, Oonoki was laughing his old ass off. "Good job Asuka, good job." Hideki and Ei shot the Tsuchikage a questioning glance. Both of them found the idea of a naked model jutsu to be frankly disturbing. Oonoki saw the looks being directed at him and shot back, "What's your problem? The Tenjounin Secret Deadly Golem Technique: Centerfold Reaper is an ancient and feared jutsu in the Land of Earth. Most opponents who face off against it become unconscious as soon as it's used. Many of the few lucky people who can resist it are like that young Hyuuga girl who can't shake off the effects of the attack until it's too late." Oonoki then smiled as he remembered the time his wife used the shinobi version on him back when they were dating.

Once again Hiruzen played the part of referee. "I think we can all agree that the young tenjounin lady's tactic was effective at accomplishing her mission. It was unexpected, but not unconventional. Visual distraction is a basic tactic among kunoichis after all. That last technique was simply an application of this basic tactic in a way to mitigate the one weakness among kunoichis' usual methods of employing that tactic. Besides, I don't think any of us has much room to complain. After all, isn't it a prerequisite to graduation in Suna for a kunoichi to impersonate someone's wife and steal a kiss? Also, doesn't Kuno still have that tradition of having their kunoichi candidates run naked in the village streets to break them of any shame?"

Dead silence greeted Hiruzen as Hideki and Ei quickly found the floor to be very fascinating. Hiruzen started to rub his temples in frustration. Only a few more matches to go and then this whole mess would be Itachi's to deal with. As much as Hiruzen loved Konoha, he was done with the kage hat and ready to go to that lovely fishing hole he had in mind. His summons already had the tackle box setup for him so he just had to formally give the hat, have himself reversed summoned, and enjoy retirement.

The Kages turned their attention down to the arena where the final match of the first round was starting. Shikamaru's match up with Omoi was currently in full swing with Omoi literally trying to slice up Shikamaru. For a Nara, Shikamaru was being quite lively as he ran away from Omoi. Boos started to pour forth from the audience at Shikamaru's 'pathetic' performance.

Ei grinned as Omoi showed off a few lighting jutsus which Shikamaru barely dodged. "How did this fool make it so far in the tournament? Perhaps Konoha needs to revise its preliminary rounds if a road runner can slip through the system."

Hideki was torn about what he should do. On the one hand, he wanted to take Hiruzen down a peg in their verbal sparring. On the other hand, the Kazekage was afraid that doing so would open him up for retaliation considering that it was his son that Shikamaru defeated. In the end, the Kazekage found himself silently praying that the Nara boy had some hidden plan for victory.

Then as quick as lighting, it happened. Shikamaru, who had been running towards the stadium wall, replaced himself with a stick and now was behind Omoi. He immediately used the Kage Mane jutsu to catch Omoi. However, Shikamaru shocked everyone by actually running while holding Omoi in the jutsu. Up in the stands Itachi was smirking. As part of the boy's training, Itachi had Shikamaru learn to run while always having one foot solidly on the ground. It made for a slightly awkward run, but it allowed Shikamaru to use his clan jutsus while moving. Both ninjas lowered their heads as Omoi neared the wall and then the Kumo ninja slammed his head into the wall as he ran into it.

Ei had a gob smack look on his face as the Announcer proclaimed Shikamaru's shocking victory. Hideki and Oonoki were break dancing in the booth over Shikamaru's victory. They weren't celebrating the victory though, they were just happy that Ei had made himself look like a fool. This undignified ruckus ended with a cracking sound and Onoki yelling out, "Damn it, my back!"

* * *

Because of the number of tournament participants, a 'half round' was needed before they could get to the semi-finals. Thus, Naruto was once again on the field and this time he was facing Samui from Kumo. Naruto started sizing up his opponent knowing that this was not going to be an easy battle.

The battle started as soon as the announcer called the start of the match. Samui opened up the fight by pointing two fingers at Naruto and calling out, "Raiton: Byakurai." A bolt of lightning shot out from Samui's fingers so fast that Naruto barely had the chance to doge. The kumo kunoichi used Naruto's doge to close the distance between them and use another jutsu to cover her hands in electricity. She then lashed out at Naruto with her hands like they were claws.

Naruto quickly brought his staff up to block Samui's attack. She then grabbed his staff with both hands intent on ripping his main physical defense away from him. However, Naruto anticipated this and promptly kneed his opponent in the gut. To her credit, Samui didn't gasp out in pain. But, she did let go of Naruto's staff in order to roll with the blow.

Both contestants now backed away from each other. Samui silently deactivated the jutsu on her hands to conserve chakra. Naruto quickly thought about his options and then created a dozen Kage bunshins. The clones rushed forward to fight Samui while the real Naruto pulled out several scrolls from a storage seal. He then opened the scrolls to pull out several barrels of toad oil, eight rods with seals hanging from them on paper, and a lighter.

Samui finished off the last clone to see Naruto standing inside an octagon made by the eight rods with the barrels of oil around the octagon. "What are you up to Namikaze?"

Naruto grinned and called out, "Winning this match. The barrels around me are full of Toad oil. I just have to ignite them and this arena will be turned into one big barbeque."

Samui blinked her eyes and then shouted out in disbelief. "You're insane! In case you haven't notice Namikaze, you're in the arena as well. What would be the point of winning if you die in the process?"

There was a fox-like grin on Naruto's face as he replied to Samui. "Didn't you notice the seals around me? This seal array is set up so that any sudden increase in the temperature, like say a fire occurring, will cause them to create a tornado to pull in cool air from the sky. Thus the area were I'm standing will be safe from the fire and as a side bonus the fire will grow hotter from the extra oxygen. So let me ask, do you surrender?"

Memories of the preliminaries rushed at Samui. She vividly remembered the seal that Naruto had whipped up to fight Sakura. If he said that his seals would do something than it was likely true. For a brief second, Samui toyed with the idea of trying another Raiton: Byakurai to take out Naruto before he could ignite the barrels. She discarded that idea because there was too much risk of a barrel being accidentally ignited. With a resigned sigh Samui raised her hand and announced. "I forfeit this match."

Samui then headed for the exit enraged that she had lost the match. Naruto quickly resealed everything away and hurried after her. He caught up with the annoyed kunoichi halfway in the hallway between the exit and the stairs to the waiting room. "Wait!" Samui turned around to see Naruto heading towards her. "Can I talk to you for a second?"

A glare that could freeze molten lead answered him. "Did you come to rub your victory in my face! Wasn't it enough that you had to force me to surrender in front of the audience just after my teammate's embarrassing loss?"

Naruto sighed and shook his head. "Nothing of the sort, I wanted to talk with you. You were one of toughest opponents I've faced in the tournament."

"BULLSHIT! I may be blond, but I'm not a bimbo you moron! Our fight didn't even last five minutes before you forced me to surrender. Do you really expect me to believe that I was one of the 'toughest opponents' you've fought with a record like that? " Samui huffed in frustration and folded her arms across her chest.

To her surprise, Naruto lowered his head and replied, "It's true. My barbeque plan was never meant for you; it was supposed to be my ace in the hole against Gaara. I had to use it on you because of your match with Temari."

Samui blinked her eyes in shock. "What? Why by Raiden would that match force you to use that little barbeque of yours against me?"

For a second Naruto hesitated before speaking. Would it really be a good idea to mention what he was about to say to someone form a rival village? However, he quickly decided that the information would probably get out quickly despite what he tried doing and that talking to Samui would be more advantageous. Hopefully, talking to her now would prevent her from carrying a grudge and thus turning her into a lifelong enemy. "Most of my ninjutsus are Futon."

A deer in the headlights look was plastered on Samui's face when she heard Naruto say that. "Huh? What did you just say Namikaze?" Samui was sure she had misheard. You just don't reveal information like that to foreign ninjas.

Naruto looked into Samui's eyes and calmly stated, "Most of my ninjutsus are Futon ninjutsus. I had originally planned to fight you with my ninjutsus until I could get an opening since I knew so little about your fighting style. However, your battle with Temari showed that you were prepared for that kind of fight. Bojutsu was inadvisable given that you could use that lighting claw jutsu against me. By the way, I've got to admit that it's a cool jutsu. I made several seals up that could provide some protection from Raiton jutsus, but I didn't have enough information to make more preparations beforehand. Creating a new seal out on the battleground was out since you've seen me do that before. My 'barbeque' as you put it, was the only option left for me."

That wasn't quite true; Naruto did have too remaining options. However, neither of them was acceptable to him. Toads were out since Naruto didn't know of one that could defend against lightning. Jiraiya had allowed Naruto to sign the contract during his month long training. Constantly summoning specific Toads was a great way to practice controlling demonic chakra. As for calling upon demonic chakra, Naruto couldn't see a good reason to use it in a 'friendly' tournament.

Samui closed her eyes and thought about what Naruto told her. What he said did make sense and that given his situation she would probably have to do the same. She then sighed and said, "Okay maybe the match wasn't as one sided as you made it look."

Naruto smiled when he heard Samui say that. "So uh, what do you say to no hard feelings Samui?" Naruto then stretched out his hand towards her.

For a second the Kumo kunoichi thought about what she should do and then shrugged her shoulders. Samui firmly grabbed Naruto's offered hand and gave it a friendly shake. "No hard feelings Namikaze. However, I reserve the right to electrify your ass if you embarrass us both by losing in the next round."

* * *

Author's note: Juuho Soushiken is Gentle Step Twin Lion Fist. It's the attack Hinata uses on Pain when she's defending Naruto. Kage Mane jutsu is the Shadow capture technique. Raiton: Byakurai (jutsu lifted from Bleach hence the Japanese name) Lighting style: Pale Lighting.


	11. Chapter 11

There was a two hour break after Gaara won his match against Shino before the semi-finals began. Naruto and Asuka used the break to go look for Asuka's family. The elder Tenjouins had arrived with Oonoki's delegation and had stayed in the hotel that the Tsuchikage had booked. Naruto and Asuka quickly found Kawai and Ryuji Tenjouin waiting by the corridor entrance for the contestants. Kawai approached Asuka as fast a decorum allowed and quickly pulled her daughter into a hug. "Oh Asuka, you were marvelous out there." Kawai then loosened her iron grip on Asuka a bit and turned to look at Naruto. "And you my boy, you've definitely proven that you inherited your father's ability in battle."

Ryuji walked over to the two chunin contestants and politely said, "Both of you preformed admirably in the arena. It's very likely that you have earned your promotions. However, don't let that get to your heads; it wouldn't do for either of you to act careless and disqualify yourselves when you are so close to achieving success. Still, I'm impressed with what you have done."

Asuka looked around and blinked her eyes. "Where's Fubuki? I thought that he was with you Mom and dad?"

Ryuji smiled and replied, "I sent Fubuki on ahead to reserve a table for us. Sojobo-Sama knows that it's hard enough to find a table at these events even if you beat the rush." Ryuji turned to Naruto and gave him a warm smile. "Would you mind joining us for lunch Naruto?"

The young Namikaze heir didn't know what to do. On the one hand, he'd love the chance to spend more time with Asuka and get to know if future in-laws better. However, he also wanted to revise his plans for facing Gaara. He finally sighed and replied, "How about I join you all for dinner instead? I just want to check a few things for my upcoming match."

Both Ryuji and Kawai nodded their heads accepting Naruto's decision. Asuka gave Naruto a quick kiss on the cheek and then gave him a wink. The three Tenjouins left Naruto by the corridor exit to head for the lunch hall. Naruto didn't hang around the hallway and left in the opposite direction for the stadium medical center.

Naruto wrinkled his nose as he approached the medical center because the sanitizers that were used always bothered his nose. He then entered the center and immediately spotted Tsunade working on Shino. It was unnerving to see the stoic bug wielder lying half naked on the bed with lacerations across his chest.

Instantly, Naruto's mind went back to Shino's fight with Gaara. Shino had wisely kept his distance from Gaara knowing that it would be stupid to fight the Suna ninja at close range. To get around Gaara's sand, Shino used several sealing scrolls that he had gotten Naruto to make and filled them with water. The arena had literally been turned into a swimming pool in order. For a moment it looked like Shino had won since his kikai were safe inside him while Gaara's sand was mud on the arena floor.

Appearances are often deceiving and almost certainly so when two ninjas fight. Gaara could control the mud made from his gourde just as well when it was simply sand. Most of Shino's kikai colony had been crushed to death and Shino had barely been able to escape from the mud tendrils that had tried to capture him. A quick glance at Shino's bandaged right leg reminded Naruto of how his friend and teammate had almost been dragged back into the arena by Gaara to sate the sand ninja's bloodlust.

Tsunade glanced over at Naruto and then sighed. "Don't worry about your friend Naruto. We just need to send Shino to the hospital for a day or two of observation before he can go rest at home. His kikai colony has almost collapsed, but time and his clan can solve that problem."

Naruto nodded his head and growled as Gaara's image again entered his mind. "So, this is why people fear known jinchurriki; the possibility that all that power could be wielded by a maniac like Gaara."

Tsunade nodded her head again and replied, "So true. However, it would be more accurate to say that it is human greed and the allure of the bijus' powers that people truly fear since it is because of immoral people that berserkers like Gaara are born. But at the same time, that doesn't change the fact that you're facing Gaara in the next match. What are you going to do Naruto?"

A frown appeared on Naruto's face and he closed his eyes. "I don't know Aunt Tsunade, I just don't know. Before Shino's match I figured I could reuse my toad oil plan to turn Gaara's sand into glass. But that's out since it's likely that Gaara can control glass made from his sand if he can control mud made from his sand. Jiraiya and I haven't been able to find a seal that is strong enough to neutralize the Ichibi's chakra and yet doesn't require more demonic chakra then the Ichibi produces without manifesting before activating. Our anti-demon seals are only meant for the minor pests that occasionally pop up or for keeping one of the greater biju like the Kyuubi in check."

There was nothing that anyone could do about that gap. Konoha's once feared fuuinjutsu skills had come from the Uzumaki as Mito's dowry. Back in the Shodai's time, Konoha was regarded as the second greatest center of fuuinjutsu after Uzu. That changed after the Second Shinobi war when most of the fuuinjutsu users were picked off by enemy ninjas and an accidental fire in the Senju compound burnt most of Mito's scrolls. Kushina and Minato had done a tremendous job at regaining Konoha's fuuinjutsu abilities, but they hadn't managed to recreate all of the seals that had been lost.

Tsunade closed her eyes and sighed. She then looked Naruto in the eye and said, "I'll be honest Naruto. You're very skilled, but you're not ready to take on Gaara by yourself given the confined space of the arena with your own skills just yet. You've got two options: either you can put on a decent showing and try to pull out before Gaara gets you or you can activate your hell gate. The choice is yours and yours alone Naruto."

* * *

"ALRIGHT FANS, I HOPE YOU CAN HANG ONTO YOUR LUNCHES BECAUSE THINGS ARE ABOUT TO HEAT UP AS WE ENTER THE SEMI-FINALS! In the first half we have two Kages' sons battling it out. Representing Konoha is Naruto Namikaze who has outwitted all of his opponents so far in this tournament. However, he faces an equally challenging opponent in Gaara Subaku who has thundered through the tournament with the fury of desert sandstorm. Only one of these young men can proceed to the finals. Which one will it be? Only the ring can give us the answer to that question!"

Naruto immediately opened up by jumping into the air and throwing a dozen kunai with attached explosive tags. He then twilled in a circle and threw another dozen kunai only this time without the tags. It was a long shot, but perhaps he could get rid of Gaara's sand defense just long enough to cripple the Suna ninja.

No such luck as Gaara's sand formed a wall and absorbed the explosions. "Mother wants your blood. Yes, you'll prove my existence!" Gaara stretched out his hand and sent his sand flying towards Naruto.

Figuring that this would be Gaara's response, Naruto was already whipping through handseals before the sand started moving. He then took a deep breath and unleashed and Fuuton: Daitoppa at the sky. Gaara and the audience watched in shock as Naruto used the force of the Daitoppa to rocket to the ground escaping under the sand. Always the unpredictable ninja, Naruto rolled as he landed on the ground and then used the momentum to push up and sprint away. The Konoha ninja then used kage bunshin to create several dozen clones.

Gaara's rage grew as he played whack-a-Naruto. Every time he took one clone out, another seven seemed to appear. At times, he even had to stop attacking in order to protect himself from the clones' attacks. Glaring in hate at the mocking Narutos, Gaara began to plan a solution to his current situation. Despite what his siblings and most of Suna thought, Gaara was able to think tactically about a situation. If there was a logic to war, which was a bastion of madness, then the mad were especially in tune with that logic. He used one of the times he needed to create a shield to discreetly send some sand into the ground.

The biggest question on Naruto's mind was: how could he end this stalemate? Gaara didn't seem to be displaying the power that he had anticipated. Was he under orders to keep his demon under wraps? If so, then Naruto only had to keep moving and he'd win the match. Sweat was starting to form on Gaara's face while Naruto was only slightly winded so a match of endurance was in his favor.

The crowd grew quiet as a rumbling was felt throughout the stadium. Gaara grinned like a possessed man and shouted out, "Your blood is mine Namikaze!" Seven pillars of sand erupted out of the ground and began to attack the Narutos on the field. The real Naruto's eyes widened as he saw the sand dragons tear through his clones like tissue paper. As the sand dragons raced towards him, Naruto bit his thumb and whipped the bloody digit across his belt buckle. The last thing with Naruto the audience saw was a small puff of smoke before Gaara's sand surrounded him.

Everyone's eyes were focused on the ball of sand as Gaara called out "Sabaku Sousou*!" The sand ball started to contract, the contractions slowed down, and quickly afterward stopped. To Gaara and everyone's surprise, the ball started to get larger. Gaara quickly reacted and put both hands in front of him facing the ball. He then motioned like he was squeezing a ball between his hands. For a second the ball started contracting again. However, it soon stopped shrinking and started growing. Sweat was falling from Gaara's face as he desperately tried to crush Naruto, but Naruto was equally as stubborn in trying to get out.

Eventually, one of the boys had to lose in this contest of wills. Gaara fell to his knees painting from exertion and immediately afterward the sand ball exploded. Gasps of shock filled the stadium as everyone's gaze turned to focus on Naruto. His body was enveloped in an orange aura that crackled at the edges like fire. Spectators with binoculars, of which there were many, were shocked at Naruto's face. The right half of his face was covered under an oni mask that was covered in glowing blood red seals. Both of Naruto's eyes had slit pupils and the iris's had shifted in color to orange.

Gaara blinked his eyes and demanded, "What is this Namikaze? What have you done?"

A slightly feral grin appeared on the visible half of Naruto's face. In a deeper and slightly beastly voice Naruto called out to his opponent. "Why are you confused Gaara? After all, you were the one who brought our battle to the gates of Hell. Is it a surprise then that one of the nine guardians would join the battle to keep the first gate sealed? Now it is time for you to learn to let sleeping demons lay!" Naruto aura doubled in size making everyone feel like they were being observed by a lion. This feeling wasn't the cruelty and terror that the Kyuubi or other biju evoked. Rather, it was the feeling of seeing a predator and knowing that it was aware of your presence.

Naruto's aura suddenly compacted making him look like an orange manqué since everything about him could only be seen in shades of orange. Immediately afterwards, Naruto got on the balls of his feet and raced off towards Gaara like a rocket. Once Naruto closed the distance, he punched Gaara in the gut and then kicked him into the air. The stadium's audience watched while holding their breaths as Naruto preformed an orange rendition of Lee's amazing green taijutsu machine. The purified demonic chakra was granting Naruto physical abilities similar to Lee. Best of all, each time Naruto hit Gaara some of his demonic chakra would neutralize Gaara's demonic chakra taking more and more sand away from the Suna ninja.

This beat down ended when Naruto kicked Gaara in the back where there wasn't any armor left sending Gaara crashing into the ground. Naruto landed a few feet away from Gaara, brought his hands together in a handseal that none of ninjas except for Jiraiya and Tsunade recognized. "Hell Gate: Seal!" The orange aura around Naruto evaporated away and the half-mask on his face morphed. The mask now looked like half of an ANBU mask painted to look like an oni instead of its pervious form which looked like a kabuki oni mask.

Naruto quickly took the mask off his face and resealed it into the storage seal on his belt. Immediately afterwards, Naruto fell to his knees painting for breath. Using the last of his willpower, Naruto forced himself to get up and look at the referee. "Is the match decided?"

The referee blinked his eyes for a second and then glanced at Gaara who was still lying on the ground. He then waited a few seconds to see if Gaara would get up. When Gaara didn't, the referee turned to look at the judges' panel. The judges glanced at each other, nodded their heads, and then the lead judge signaled the referee to make the announcement.

"Alright ladies and gentlemen, Naruto Namikaze wins by a knock-out and advances to the finals. I don't know what jutsu the young Namikaze used to literally break his way out of certain death, but I'm sure I speak for all of us when I say that it is definitely something to watch. There will be a short break while the attendants repair the stadium before we get to the second half of the semi-finals."

* * *

Up in the Kage booth, Oonoki and Sarutobi were grinning like mad men as Ei and Hideki stared at the stadium arena in shocked silence. Oonoki jumped into the air, clapped his feet together, and quickly returned to his seat before his back gave out. "Oh yah, now that is what grandpa wants to see!" He then turned to face the gob smack kages and held out his hands. "Pay up you whippersnappers."

Ei muttered under his breath as he reached into his jacket. "They've got to have rigged this match somehow Hideki. That brat of yours is supposed to have killed Jonin hopefuls for breakfast. How could a genin, admittedly a powerful one, beat Gaara?"

Hideki growled at Ei and shot back as he reached into his hat, "At least the boy lasted longer than your ninjas. After all, who's the kage with premier ninjas that can be taken out like puppets without their strings?"

"Now now gentlemen, let's not be bitter over the performance of our ninjas." Hiruzen's normal efforts at soothing his fellow kages' egos were not effective since he had his hand out to collect his payment as well. Oonoki and Hiruzen were both given copies of 'Thunder Valley' calendar for the upcoming year by Ei and 'Desert Landscapes: sunbathing locations' booklets from Hideki. The older kages quickly pocketed their winnings.

Sarutobi thought about how the tournament had unfolded so far and had to admit that things couldn't have gone better for Konoha. With Gaara's defeat, Konoha was assured that a Konoha ninja was going to win the tournament. Even if Asuka won, she'd be a Konoha ninja by the end of the month so it was all the same.

Oonoki was pleased to see that his hunch about Minato's boy was paying off. Naruto's victories in the tournament and his spectacular defeat of Gaara would leave quiet the impression on the various daimyos. No doubt many of the lords and richer patrons here today will be asking for Naruto's services in the future. Given the boy's growth, Oonoki had no doubts that Naruto would succeed in his future missions giving him ever more renowned and influence in Konoha. Oonoki silently wished Naruto the best of luck.

After all, the more powerful Naruto became in Konoha the more likely Iwa would gain a powerful and valuable ally. Oonoki was still a little bitter about Minato's victories in the Third Shinobi War, but he wasn't one to hold grudges. Konoha and Fire Country were powerful military forces and only a complete moron wouldn't try to ally with them. Besides, the Earth daimio was pleased with the warming relations on his country's southeastern boarder. It meant that he could shift more resources to dealing with those annoying steppe tribes on the western border.

* * *

"This is just too troublesome for me." Shikamaru was lying on a bench near his assigned entrance into the arena. He stared up at the ceiling and began muttering to himself. "If I fight and lose my match I'll be beaten by a girl. If I win my match then I'll be facing Naruto who'll no doubt be pissed that I hurt his fiancée. If I quit, I'll make the village look bad and mom will bring out that frying pan. What a drag, I lose no matter which option I take."

Shikamaru closed his eyes and tried to visualize his next match. Asuka's golems were a serious problem for him. While he could capture them, the problem came with facing multiple golems at the same time. Asuka wasn't the kind of fighter to just charge into battle; she obviously planned ahead for how to best use her golems. She knew that he relied on the Kage mane jutsu so she'd probably adjust her tactics to neutralize his technique.

There were two ways that Shikamaru could Asuka defeating his jutsu. The first would involve her using her golems to attack him at multiple angles at the same time. The Kage mane could hold multiple people at the same time, but only if they were in a relatively close group. Inoichi knew about this problem with the Kage mane and had trained Shikamaru to use multiple Kage manes at the same time. The training had been ridiculously exhausting, but Shikamaru could use three Kage manes simultaneously.

However, there was the problem of what if Asuka could make more than three golems. Holding three enemies back just so that a fourth could hit him wasn't that smart. That led strait into problem two: what if Asuka attacked with aerial golems? Catching flying birds or people in mid jump was almost impossible. Her beetle golems showed that she could create such things.

Scenario after scenario played out in Shikamaru's head with a speed and clarity that most wouldn't expect of such a lazy person. As the scenarios played out, Shikamaru carefully assessed his possibilities of wining. He estimated that he had a fifteen percent chance of wining and an additional twenty percent chance of ending the match in a draw. Shikamaru didn't like these odds at all. Well, he didn't like the match in the first place, but losing it was even worse. Maybe it would be best for him to quit now and not suffer the embarrassment of losing?

But if he did that, what would he do about his mother when he got home? That frying pan hurt! Maybe if he asked the announcer to mention the low odds of his probable success? Yah, that ought to placate his mom enough to not whack his head when he came home. He could also use his remaining time to figure out ways to shift the blame for his low odds of success to his father. Shikamaru loved his father, but when it came to his mother's fry pan it was every Nara for himself.

"You're kidding right? Oh who am I kidding, of course your telling the truth. In all honesty I'm surprise the kid made it past the first round. Don't you defend the boy, he's a Nara and everyone knows that they're the laziest ninjas in this village." The tournament announcer huffed in annoyance as he turned off his radio. Naras, it always seemed that they were deliberately out to get him. How could he host an action packed tournament when those sloths were involved?

The announcer to a moment to collect himself and then picked up his microphone. "Attention everyone, contestant Shikamaru Nara has withdrawn from the tournament citing a low probability of success in his match against Asuka Tenjounin. As such, we will be moving straight into the finals when the arena is ready in a few minutes."

The audience used this time to place bets on the final match's outcome while the announcer pulled out his prewritten script for this matchup. He quickly memorized it and then waited for the last touches of repairs to be done.

Finally, the stage hand signaled that everything was ready and the Announcer began. "Nothing can finish a tournament quite like an epic battle and that is exactly what you the viewers will be witnessing here today. Naruto Namikaze and Asuka Tenjounin have triumphed over hundreds of other genins for the right to be in this match today. Interestingly enough, these two ninjas are betrothed to each since the end of the Third Shinobi War which makes this match the most viewed and dangerous relationship squabble on the continent."

Naruto was breathing heavier than usual, because he was still worn out from his match with Gaara, as he looked across the field at Asuka. "No hard feelings with how this ends Asuka?"

Asuka smirked and replied, "As long as you don't mind losing to little old me then there won't be any hard feelings." Asuka then slammed her hands to the ground and called out, "Stone Golem Technique: Four Saint Guardians!" Naruto quickly took a defensive position as he didn't have a clue what this jutsu would create. Four large stone creatures quickly rose from the ground. These creatures were: a turtle, a dragon, a bird, and a tiger and they surrounded Asuka at the four cardinal points. Asuka quickly hopped onto the bird's back and it took off into the air.

Naruto quickly flipped backwards and pulled out a storage scroll. He quickly swiped one of the seals causing a barrel of toad oil to appear in front of him. Naruto then created two Kage Bunshins and had them throw the barrel into the air. While the clones were throwing the oil, Naruto pulled out an explosive tag, lit it, and threw it at the barrel. The three Narutos then used Fuuton: Daitoppa. This caused the barrel to become a gigantic burning hot fireball that was sent flying at the three golems on the ground.

With a signal from Asuka, the turtle closed into its shell and rolled in front of the fireball. She also had her ride climb higher into the sky in order to get a clearer picture of the damage. It was hard to assess the damage for a few second because of the smoke, but it cleared up soon enough. Both the dragon and the tiger were fine, but her turtle golem was half destroyed because of its 'shell' being used as a shield. Asuka order the tiger and dragon golems to attack Naruto.

Naruto and his clones between and around the two attacking golems like roadrunners from hell. Many of Naruto's clones were destroyed by the golems, but he kept on creating more. As he passed by each golem, he and his clones would strike with theirs staffs to chip away at the stone beasts. However, Asuka was able to regenerate the damage done to her golems almost as quickly and Naruto could inflict damage.

The audience watched as two Narutos got onto the dragon golem's back and started running towards the tail. One Naruto quickly ran to the tip of the tail, grabbed the other Naruto's hand, swung the other Naruto into the air, and then turned into a puff of smoke. The real Naruto was now rocketing into the air and summoned his remaining barrels of toad oil. He then created a dozen Kage Bunshins to create an even greater fireball than last time. Luckily for the audience, the protective seals on the arena walls kicked in and directed the flames and heat strait up.

Naruto was protected from the flames by a special seal he had created for this occasion and he landed on the ground just as the flames died out. The entire arena was nothing but a charcoal pit. Asuka had her bird land at this time and then it dissolved into the ground. Both contestants' faces off from each other assessing the other's will to fight. It was clear that both of them were starting to suffer from mild chakra exhaustion.

Neither one was about to concede the match; their pride as fighters simply wouldn't allow it. Naruto and Asuka quickly ran at each other and enter into a taijutsu battle amidst the soot. Naruto kept on trying to hit Asuka with his bo and was soaking up the hits she landed on him. At the same time, Asuka was using her flexibility to weave around Naruto's attacks was retaliating with some very nasty kicks and sweeps.

Asuka frowned as the taijutsu match carried on. She just wasn't doing enough damage to put Naruto down. Had they been out in the field together, she would have been ecstatic to know that since she wouldn't have to worry about her fiancé as much. However, Naruto was her opponent at the moment and there was no way that she was going to lose to him! Asuka weaved away from Naruto and muttered under her breath, "Demonic illusion: Lust Entrapping."

Naruto froze in shock and his eyes bulged out. Critical threads in Asuka's clothes, which had suffered some serious abuse during the tournament, started snapping causing her clothes to fall to the ground. Naruto couldn't believe what he was seeing: Asuka was standing there in the middle of the stadium naked as the day she was born. His cheeks turned red and he started to stammer, "A-asuka you're-"

Like a lioness stalking her prey, Asuka leapt at Naruto knowing that he was trapped in her illusion. She quickly knocked him to the ground and pressed her knee against his windpipe. Naruto started to struggle, but Asuka remained where she was. "Sorry dear, but I'm going to win. I'll make it up to you afterwards though."

Naruto wasn't about to lose the tournament either. However, he couldn't dislodge Asuka and he was rapidly losing consciousness. Just before Naruto lost consciousness, he used the last of his strength to kick Asuka in the back of the head. This last attack caught Asuka off guard knocking her out as well. She fell to the ground joining Naruto in unconsciousness.

* * *

Murmurs were flowing throughout the audience with everyone asking the same thing: who had won the match? Double knockouts just didn't happen in the Chunin Exam tournaments. Finally, Hiruzen left the Kage booth and joined the announcer. He then calmly said, "This has been quite the exciting and unexpected match. According to the Chunin Exam rules, the leader of the hosting village is supposed to rule on who the victor is in an apparent double knockout."

"This would be the point where I would pronounce my decision. However, I think that it would be better for my successor to rule on this issue since he is scheduled to take the office at the end of the tournament. Would the Godaime Hokage please join me and give his judgment?"

Everyone's eyes became locked onto Hiruzen wondering who would appear. None of the civilians knew about the planned change in leadership. Most of the higher level ninjas knew that they were getting a new Hokage, but didn't know who was slated for the position. Gasps of shock and surprise filled the audience with Itachi appeared next to Hiruzen. The old Hokage spoke one last time before handing the microphone to Itachi. "The decision is yours, Hokage Itachi Uchiha."

Itachi closed his eyes and considered the situation his predecessor had put him in. He had to be very careful about his answer because many daimyos would be upset over losing. Finally, Itachi gave his decision. "Being winner of the exam tournament is not only a personal honor, it is an honor that extends to a person's clan and grants prestige to their village. Both Asuka and Naruto fought very well being credits to Iwa and Konoha. Neither one of them was able to beat the other which was their primary mission. Thus, both of them lose personally."

"However, the prize and championship of this tournament does go to someone. As Hokage, I rule that the Namikaze Clan which will soon be composed of both Naruto and Asuka as the winner of the tournament. Furthermore, both Konoha and Iwa shall share the prestige of having the winner of the tournament come from their village as the Namikaze clan is born from the two villages."

* * *

*Desert funeral


End file.
